Second Chance
by Daughter of the Count
Summary: High school sweethearts, Bella and Edward, had to keep their relationship a secret from Bella's parents. Still, they were found out and forced to split up. Now that Bella's escaped and found Edward her parents continue to search for her as well as the miracle she and Edward created. With the law against them the law will help them a second chance.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It's the first day of winter semester of my freshman year at the University of Washington. The fall semester was so boring I ended up spending most of my time playing video games with my roommates and I still managed to ace every class.

I lucked out and got two guys who I got along with, but third I couldn't fucking stand, Mike Newton.

Newton and I went to school in a small shit-town called Forks, Washington. The guy has always hated my guts, and I've hated his.

I'm the first one back into our dorm which consists of two sets of bunk beds, a small kitchen—which is only a mini-fridge, microwave, and a small cabinet—and the little 20' inch TV that Mike brought in. He thought it would earn him some brownie points with his new roommates, but it did the exact opposite.

Instead, the other guys, Jasper and Emmett, and I would go out to use the big screen in the communal area for when we wanted to watch TV or play video games. Newton would tag-along sometimes, but would wonder away to follow some girl walking by.

He would always come back to the dorm late looking disheveled, although, it was easy to tell if he messed up his own hair and clothes to make it look like he had a hot night.

Fucking loser.

It's dangerous for me to be in the room alone with nothing to do. Newton wised up and took his small-ass TV home over break—hopefully it would stay there. But there was no homework to do or anyone here to hang out with. I couldn't pick up a book or else my heart would feel like it would explode out of my chest.

It does seem like a pussy way of putting it, but it's true. In fact, looking at a book reminds me of her; would she read this? What would be her opinion be? Those were questions I'd unconsciously ask myself then and now and the book would usually end up on the floor while I tried to keep the fucking tears away.

I only pick up a book if it was required reading for class, and I can't even listen or play music anymore because it reminds me all of her. Every note or lyric has a particular memory of her in some way; I don't want to be reminded of the pain, the emptiness in my chest from when she was taken from me.

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait for too long before Jasper came strolling into the room with his pixie girlfriend tagging along.

"Hey, Edward, did you have a nice Christmas? Did you spend New Year's with anyone special?" Alice had so much energy for such a little thing that it takes time to understand everything she says.

"Yeah, I did have a nice Christmas with my dad, and we went to his office party for New Year's." I didn't tell her that I snuck into a closet with a bottle of Jack when the ball dropped; I just couldn't handle all the couples at the party kissing their significant other to celebrate the New Year. My dad had a similar experience with a glass of scotch at the bar.

"Oh, that's too bad. I really wished you and your father came over to my parents' party. I saw a few girls you would love. They're sisters so you can have your pick, first there's Amber…." She just went on and on while I tuned her out.

It's hard not to like Alice as a friend; though, there are times when she gets on my fucking nerves just like now with the blind dates. Jasper's explained to me numerous times that it's in Alice's nature to try to help out everyone she knows.

I get that she wants to help me find my significant other, but what she doesn't understand is that I have found her, but she's lost.

Only Jasper and Emmett know about my lost love and that's because they got me drunk after our first week of school started. Emmett claimed that I was a "moody motherfucker" then brought out the alcohol.

Of course, I couldn't say no when I saw my old friend Jack and started chugging away. A few hours later, I was crying like a fucking baby in the corner spilling my guts out about my sad fairytale life. Thankfully, Mike was gone for the whole weekend and didn't get to witness my break down.

From then on, the guys stopped bugging me about my love-life and I stopped being so moody…a little.

Their girlfriends are a different matter. I think the guys have tried to explain to them a little of my situation, but that still hasn't stopped Alice from trying to ease my pain.

She just doesn't understand that my pain will never be lifted.

"Yo, yo, yo, peeps," Emmett burst through the door, "Who missed me?"

I just rolled my eyes, but Emmett was like Alice, how can you not like him? He always tries to make everyone in the room laugh even though he is a giant beast of a man. He was 250 pounds of pure muscle, but had the heart and face of a kid.

"I did!" Alice bounded into his arms.

She and Emmett got along great because of their playful personalities and huge tanks of energy.

"Rosalie." I nodded in her direction as a sort of greeting.

Rosalie Hale had the body of a hot model, and was majoring in pre-med, and yet she had this ice queen exterior which would melt only around her closest friends. Her childhood wasn't that happy despite being from a rich family, so the bitchiness was just a protection detail giving her the confidence to make her believe the world bowed to her.

It amazed me that childish Emmett would put up with Rosalie, but they balanced each other out like Jazz and Alice. Em could melt down Rose's exterior and she, in return, can calm him down when he's too hyped up.

It was relatively the same for Jasper and Alice, he could simmer down her perkiness and she can get him to be more outgoing.

These guys are the closest friends that I've had in a long time, but it still hurts to see the love they have for each other.

"Eeeek, Rose, when did you get here? Did you have a nice break? What did you do? Where did you go? Don't give me all the details about you and Emmett, but just tell me you had a good time."

"I did, did you?" Short and sweet, that's how you work with Alice sometimes.

"Oh my God, I did. My mom got me these…" I tuned her out and apparently so did Emmett, but Jasper kept watching the little firecracker like she was giving a life-changing speech for world peace.

"Hello, are you guys listening to me?" She finally called out to two of us as we were unpacking our bags.

"You were just telling us about all the toys, clothes, bags, and shit that Santa left you for Christmas." Emmett retorted.

"Yeah, but I wanted to tell you guys that I got a new job right here on campus. I'm working at the front desk of the housing department, and I met this new girl who says she'll be starting in the summer—because she got held back a bit with something personal and that something personal was a baby. I mean, she came into the office yesterday—my first day by the way—pushing an old, worn-out stroller carrying the cutest little baby I've ever seen." She gushed.

"Is there a point to this, Alice?" I asked not bothering to look in her direction.

"Yeah, that girl is a single mother of a sweet little baby who just moved into town. I asked her where she lived and if we could help her settle in, but she refused then turned in her paperwork and left." She finished.

"How rude," Rose said while expecting her already perfectly manicured nails.

"Well, to be fair, her cutie pie was starting to get fussy. Maybe she was hungry or something, after that I was excused to go get my lunch and let me tell you…" And she was off again.

Our group was crammed in this little room for the rest of the day with Alice talking nonstop about everything and anything. Jasper listened the entire time while Emmett would only engage occasionally, but that was usually a smart-ass comment about something Alice said earning him a slap on the head from his girl who was off in Rosalie Land. Me, I stayed on my computer for the rest of the time torturing myself by looking at pictures of a familiar brown-eyed, dark-hair girl.

For some reason, my heart kept thinking that she's out there somewhere searching for me. Afterall, it wasn't her idea to dump me on my fucking ass. Her family conspired against her and I can't think of a good fucking reason why.

I came from a good family minus a mother who died when I was a kid, but my dad and I were tight.

The only time I got in trouble was when I just defended my girl's honor and ended up in detention for a week while the other fucker was suspended. You'd think that would earn me some credit from her father, but nope. The Chief was convinced that I was a bad seed who would land his daughter down a road of destruction.

Who did he think he was? The man only met me for the first time, officially, when he pulled me off of Tyler Crowley. He didn't see Tyler grab his daughter's ass roughly and then laugh with his friends at her humiliation. He also didn't see Tyler throw the first punch—which missed me, by the way. Finally, he didn't listen to his daughter when she tried to defend me hoping to get him to see I wasn't the fucking city-scum he thought I was. It didn't work, but we still kept us a secret.

When our relationship was found out, it blew up in our faces and my other half was forcibly taken from my side. I will never forget the sadness I saw in her chocolate, doe eyes when her father dragged her out of my house.

I got my goodbye later that night—it was her birthday—but I didn't want to say goodbye. If only she had left with me that night.

"Edward, Edward," Jasper was calling my name shaking me out of my memories.

"Sorry. What?" I asked.

"We're going out for some grub, you coming?" He asked.

"Please, Edward, I know a waitress at the restaurant that…"

"No thanks, Alice." I said in a low voice that sounded a little harsher than I meant to be, but everyone was use to my snappiness.

"Speaking of restaurants," Emmett jumped up, "I'm hungry; let's go eat."

"That's a shocker." Rosalie replied sarcastically, but grabbed her purse anyways.

Wordlessly, everyone left the room except me. They don't even have to ask anymore. If I wanted to go, I would follow them. Today, though, I didn't feel like being a fifth wheel.

About five minutes after they left, my mind was going into the danger zone again. I couldn't let that happen, so I decided to go to the bookstore to get the required books for this semester's classes figuring that I could review the shit to keep the memories at bay.

Unfortunately, my new books did not fulfill their job requirement; they only made my mood sourer.

All my classes this semester had something to do with my past and the memories torturously followed. The only book that didn't remind me of anything was for my basic computer class and that was difficult to read after a while.

It was only 6:30, but there was nothing else for me to do and I didn't feel like hanging out with anyone. I was glad that Mike wasn't back yet; his mere presence annoys the shit out of me just like in high school.

As I got into bed, the flood of memories was going out of control. I tried to focus on the positive, the happy memories, even though they always made the hole in my chest throb like hell.

I was going to be one bitchy son of a bitch tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up early the next morning to my alarm clock buzzing in my ear. Groaning and cursing at the annoying piece of junk, I got up to get ready for my morning run. Jasper and Emmett were getting up in relatively the same fashion. Mike just pulled a pillow over his head while muttering a stream of profanities. I chuckled silently and left the alarm to continue buzzing for a few more minutes just to fuck with him.

Since it was freezing as hell outside, the guys and I did a short jog over to the gym where the girls were already there on their treadmills. Emmett and Jasper joined them while I decided my legs needed an old fashion run on the inside track. It was empty so that meant I didn't have to deal with the slow fuckers this morning.

After four miles, the others pointed out the time for me.

Shit, I only had an hour before my first class of the day.

I didn't even stop running as I got my stuff and fled out the door not waiting for the others.

By the time I was showered and dressed, I only had 15 minutes to get to class which worked out because it was only a ten minute walk from the dorms.

However, when I was about to walk into the building for my lecture, I swear my eyes were playing tricks on me. I could have sworn I saw a familiar trail of brunette hair flying with the wind, but when I blinked it was gone.

The anguish I felt was still just as fresh as when my heart was ripped out of my chest over a year ago, but that little glimmer of hope both healed and hurt my invisible wound at the same time. I doubt my classes were going to numb that pain.

Fuck me, I was right.

My professors just talked about class expectations and then released us after 20 minutes of lecture with no assignments due for a week. Looking at their syllabi, I was wondering if I was back in high school, the lesson plans were too fucking easy. I could do a whole semester's worth of shit this week without breaking a sweat.

God this semester is going to suck. Maybe I can get a job or something, not that I need the money, but it can give me something extra to do.

I crossed through the quad to get back to my dorms. All the while, I kept a look out for that delusion of brown hair flapping in the wind.

There was nothing.

Another unfortunate was Mike; he was the only one in the room watching his shit-small TV while munching on caramel popcorn. It disgusted me.

"Hey, Masen," He said through a mouth full, "When did you guys get back yesterday? I didn't get in till after three this morning. I would have been back earlier, but I saw this cute blonde chick who was totally into me and let me tell you she could…"

"Shut it, fuck-head." I nearly growled at him. I wasn't in the mood to hear his latest fantasy.

"What did you say to me?" He jumped up trying to look menacing, but failed miserably.

"I said, 'shut it, fuck-head.' Do you want me to write it down for you?" I glowered at him.

"Want to take this outside?" He challenged.

I couldn't help but chuckle darkly at him; he was weak in high school and hadn't changed much since then.

"You think this is funny do you? Why don't you just step outside and I'll show you funny."

"Yeah, I'll be laughing at you trying to hit me, but you couldn't touch me like you can't fuck a woman." I grinned at him.

Living in a small town, I heard all the rumors about everyone…most of the time involuntarily. Mike was known by his few conquests that he was the worst lay they had ever had. Plus, we had gym together and trust me when I say it wasn't the cold water that made his dick that size.

Good news for Mike, before this could turn into a real fight, Em and Jazz walked through the door. Mike instantly backed down like the pussy he was knowing that Em and Jazz would side with me in any fight.

I smirked down at him then turned to greet the guys.

They were use to seeing Mike and me almost going to blows so they didn't say anything.

"Don't get too comfortable, the ladies want to go out for dinner tonight." Jasper told me.

"Didn't you go out last night?" I questioned.

"Yeah, but their kitchen is like ours so we were going to eat out anyways." He quipped.

He was right, but I would have settled for a college student's favorite, a peanut butter sandwich, with the mood that I'm in.

"Fine, but can we stay on campus?" I reasoned.

"Yeah, they wanted to check out that new Chinese place the school put in the dining hall." Emmett said.

"Best hurry since they don't take reservations." Jasper tried to joke, but failed.

The girls had beaten us to the dining hall and were saving us a table.

"So, how was your first day of class?" Alice asked after giving Jasper a kiss.

"Piece of cake, speaking of which…" Emmett said then ran off towards the desserts.

"Seemed interesting, the reading material not the professor. He's voice makes my ears bleed." Jasper answered.

"Edward?" She asked me directly.

I shrugged my shoulders silently telling her that I wasn't in the mood to talk tonight, only to eat.

She narrowed her eyes at me before launching into a play-by-play of her day. I got up get my food in order to effectively ignore her.

When I got back to the table Emmett was digging into his food—literally—and Alice was still talking…not fucking surprising.

"Oh, and that girl was on campus today too. I tried going up to her to say hi, but she disappeared in the crowd."

_Boo-fucking-hoo_, I said to myself.

"Geez Alice, you're turning into a stalker." Rose commented almost bored while eating her stir-fry.

"I swear I'm about to, I don't think she has any friends here." She whined.

"Alice, you've only talked to her for five minutes at most, how can you know if she has any friends?" I asked.

"For your information, it was six minutes." She replied smugly. "And she just looked so sad like a puppy at the pound who knows no one is going to adopt it."

"She's not a fucking dog, Alice." I reminded her.

"I know, but that's…you know what?"

"I know plenty of stuff, I could even teach the shit my professors have planned for this semester." I retorted knowing it would piss her off, but I couldn't help it. I was only a few bites away from finishing then I was leaving.

"You're such an asshole, Edward Masen." She replied angrily then got up to get her food with Jasper hot on her heels. He gave me a glare meaning that we were going to have a talk later on and it wouldn't be friendly.

"Dude, why do you do that?" Emmett asked through a mouth full of food.

Rose smacked him on the arm.

"You really were being a jackass." She commented.

"Yeah, I know, but she doesn't need to always go digging into other people's affairs." Especially mine, I added in my head.

"She's just trying to help."

"But I didn't ask for it, and neither did that girl. Alice just needs to give people space." I grunted then got up with my plate. I was finished with these guys for tonight.

The night air was cold, but it felt oddly comforting for my stone heart.

I was starting to feel remorseful for speaking to Alice that way. She really was a good friend, but she needed to learn to back off a bit. I guess I'm not doing much to help out either.

I'm always the guy in our little group who brings a fucking cloud along and shares it with everyone. It's driving me nuts, but I can't help it.

I was close to my building when I heard a pair of stiletto heels running behind me.

"Edward, wait." It was Alice.

I turned to face her showing the guilt from what I said earlier. By looking at her face, she felt the same way.

"I'm sorry." We said at the same time then chuckled at how weird it sounded.

"Really, Edward, I am so sorry. I just…I feel compelled to help." She grinned sheepishly.

"I know, Ali, and I admire you for that." I replied. "Still, I'm sorry for what I said, but you can't fix me. I don't think anyone can."

"Can you at least talk about it?" She sat down on the nearby bench and patted for me to sit next to her. I rolled my eyes and sat.

"I can't talk about it or even think about it before it just hurts too much to fucking take a breath." I told her looking down at my feet. "You don't know how much I wish I couldn't feel this pain, or that my past had turned out differently so I wouldn't be so miserable. I know I sound selfish, but it's just…the way it is."

"You're not selfish, Edward, you just want to get over the pain. I know how that feels when you're separated from the ones you love."

"I'm sorry to say, Alice, but you don't know. What if…what if Jasper was taken from you and you didn't know where the hell he was, how would you feel?" I asked her.

"I would feel like a part of me was missing." Recognition brightened her face. "Is that what happened to you?"

"You may think I'm crazy, but…I found the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with at seventeen. She loved me and I loved her until she was fucking shipped away because her family disapproved of me."

"Why didn't they approve of you?" She asked in disbelief.

"The hell if I know. Her father didn't even know me and yet, he threatened me to stay away from his daughter. The day after her birthday, he shipped her down south to live with her mother and I never heard from her again."

Alice's gloved hand crept into one of mine and gave a gentle squeeze. She didn't say anything, she didn't need to.

"You should go now, it's getting late." I said giving her hand an equally gentle squeeze as a silent thank you.

"Yeah, just remember that we're here for you, Edward." She gave me a peck on the cheek before she got up and danced away.

I continued to sit on the bench, the sun had long ago gone below the horizon and the wind was picking up making the wind chill drop, but I stayed put for a little while longer. My memories were blocking the connections between my brain and body as I allowed myself to think about her.

I remembered her laugh and how it sounded like music, her brown, doe-like eyes that showed me her beautiful soul and how she matched it to a T. I remembered how it felt to be with her; our limbs tangled together, her hot breath on my neck as she fell into that blissful sea of ecstasy carrying me along with her, her smooth skin under my rough hands.

I remembered our last night together and how she made me promise that this was not goodbye…we would be together soon.

Finally, I remembered her soft, plump lips molding against mine. They were so warm and smooth. I had made a silent vow that night to never kiss any other lips besides hers because everything that I am belonged to her and only her.

Eventually, I walked into my building, ignoring Newton who tried to belittle me and got into bed; emotionally exhausted.


	3. Chapter 3

One week went by then another then another till it became March, the middle of the semester. Midterms were coming up quick, but I didn't care. My grades were so fucking high that it didn't feel like I was trying. Without the challenge of school, it was harder to numb my thoughts.

Ever since my talk with Alice, she has been getting better about pestering me less, although, she did slip up every now and then, but they were few and far in between.

I haven't had any more hallucinations about the brown-haired girl and for some reason that just made me even more depressed.

It was late afternoon, and my computer class had just let out. I decided to do the extra credit for my English Literature class just for fuck's sakes, so I went to the library for some quiet.

As I was doing some research on one of the authors for class, I heard Alice's voice behind a stack of shelves.

"I know you said you loved books and this library is just bursting with them." She giggled.

I rolled my eyes at her antics.

"That's why it's called a library, Alice." Rosalie was with her, but Alice wouldn't be explaining a library to her. Someone else must be with her.

"It's really cool here." I nearly broke my pen in half. That voice sounded very familiar. "But I don't have a library card yet, and I'm always so busy that I've barely had any time to sit down and read. I'll be even busier when I start school."

"Don't forget, we've offered to help you." Alice said.

"And I appreciate it, but you know how I feel. I'm just…sorry."

That voice has haunted my dreams every night for nearly two years, and it sounded just as lovely as ever.

"We know, but give us a call if you need us." Wow, Rosalie sounded sincere…never fucking heard that before.

"Day or night," Alice chirped in.

Then there was that laugh. It brought a smile to my face like a reflex and I nearly cried feeling as if I hadn't used those facial muscles in decades.

Quickly getting up, I had to see if this was another one of my hallucinations or was this real.

I turned the corner, but no one was there.

I know I didn't imagine that. Her voice was so clear, like a bell beckoning me to her altar.

Running back to my spot, I packed up all my shit then swung my bag over my shoulder before taking off for the stairs.

They couldn't have gone far, I thought to myself.

When I came out of the building, I couldn't see anything. No Alice, no Rosalie, and no Bella.

I wanted to scream in frustration or punch something. Instead, I walked back into the library to get some work done thinking that I had imagined it all along.

For the rest of the week, I didn't see Alice or Rosalie; I didn't want to give into my hallucinations, so I kept working on my schoolwork.

By Friday, the guys were tired of my extra broodiness and shoved me out the door with them. We went to the communal area to shoot some pool since the big screen TV was already occupied.

"Dude, would you care to explain your behavior this week?" Emmett asked while Jasper set up the balls.

"It's nothing." I said just watching the balls roll around. "You break."

Emmett sighed, but did it anyway.

"Come on, man, tell us what's eaten at you. You look like someone boiled your puppy alive." Jasper tried.

"I fucking said it was nothing." My voice wasn't harsh, it just sounded dead.

"Edward, is this about Bella again?" He asked.

He caught me by surprise saying her name; he knew not to do that.

"You've been talking in your sleep again. It sounds like you're crying out for her to not leave you."

I stayed silent.

"Did you want to go looking for her?" He asked.

I shook my head and chuckled dryly.

"Don't you think I haven't tried that yet, or my dad. He keeps looking for her and I can't tell him to fucking stop because I don't fucking want him to."

"Why? Does she have a daddy fetish?" Emmett chuckled, but it was strained.

I glared at him. "Would your parents give up if Rose went missing?"

The balls became fascinating to look at for him.

"That's what I fucking thought, but the problem is that her dad is a police chief with fucking connections everywhere. We moved out of Forks as soon as I was handed my diploma. Seattle isn't even going to be permanent."

"Where would you guys go?" Jasper asked. Stupid, psychology major Texan.

"We're not making that decision until I start looking for grad schools. But if I could, I would drive through every fucking city in this country to look for her. Her dad is keeping her well hidden."

"Or maybe she's hiding from them." Jasper suggested.

"What?" I questioned.

"Just sayin, man, your woman could have wised up and ditch those two assholes." He shrugged. "She is eighteen now, isn't she?"

It was a possibility that I never thought of. Maybe that's why the chief put so much security on me and my dad since we moved away; thinking that he could catch Bella with us. Then he would find a good excuse for throwing my ass in jail just long enough to steal his daughter away again.

My mind was so focused that I ended up losing to Emmett who loves to rub his wins in his opponent's face. I didn't care, though; my mind was a million miles away.

It was still pretty early in the evening, so I decided to step away from the guys to call my dad.

"Hello." He answered on the third ring.

"Hey, dad," I greeted.

"Well, hello there, son, are you missing home already?" He chuckled.

"No, but I do have some business that I would like to talk to you about."

"What's this about, Edward? Are you in trouble?" He was going into lawyer mode.

"It's about Bella, dad. I think I'm going crazy, but I swear I've seen her around campus, and yesterday I heard her voice in the library…she was talking to Alice and Rosalie."

"Whoa there, kid, have you actually spoken to her?"

"If I had spoken to her I would handcuff her to my arm and never let her go again."

"A little desperate aren't we?" He chuckled.

I rolled my eyes, but didn't respond to that. He sobered up quickly anyways.

"Edward, I know you miss her terribly and want her back, but we can't find her. Charlie is keeping us in the dark, blocking me at every turn."

"I know that, but I was thinking, what if Bella ran away from her family? Could that explain why the chief is keeping extra tabs on us?"

"Hmmm," I could practically hear his wheels turning through my phone. "That does seem logical, son. Maybe it's time to switch tactics."

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"I think I'm going to start tailing Renee and Charlie since Bella isn't leaving behind a trail, but those two are. It might get a little uglier, though; when Charlie finds out I'm tracking him."

"I agree. Something's not right. I can't explain it, but there's something going on with that family that makes me believe that Bella is not safe."

"Believe me, son, I understand. I've had that feeling since the day you first brought her home to meet me."

I remembered that day so clearly. My dad was still at work at the time, and when Bella first stepped through the kitchen I couldn't get her out of there. Dad said it was a hell of a greeting when he came home to find a hot, homemade meal waiting for him. Bella scolded him and me about eating so much overly processed food, but he took it with a smile.

After that, she practically cooked for us every day after school until she had to go home and cook again for her father. The only difference, she would say, was that we showed more appreciation for her hard work.

"Mmm, I can still taste her meatloaf some days." My dad chuckled into the phone. "Please tell me you didn't just like her for her culinary talents?"

"Well, they say that a guy falls for a woman who reminds him of his mother." I chuckled remembering my mom and the delicious food she made.

"Your mother would have loved her, Edward; she probably would have planned your wedding by now too."

He was most likely right.

"We need to find her, dad." I said solemnly.

"We will, kid, you just go do your work and let me concentrate on mine."

"Thanks, dad…I love you." I said quietly.

"I love you too, son. Goodbye."

I swear my father grew up during the Victorian ages. He didn't show much emotion, but he was the most loving man I know. Hearing him say I love you should sound foreign coming from a man like him, but his mask was created for his occupation otherwise he has a big heart.

The next week, classes were boring as usual, and I kept looking over my shoulder for that familiar brown hair. Still, I found nothing.

I couldn't call Rose or Alice now because they were studying their heads off which made their boyfriends complain…a lot. But I wasn't much better.

By Wednesday, I had had enough, and luckily, so had the girls.

They pounded on our door looking half-crazed and sex-starved.

Without a word, they grabbed the three of us—poor fucking Newton looked like he was put in time-out when he was ignored—and hauled us out of our rooms.

Now I would have asked the girls about what they knew about Bella and hoped that it was the same girl they knew. I fucking couldn't, though, because these two were in desperate need of a chocolate rush.

Great, they were both PMSing and burned out from studying. I learned my lesson last year and decided to let them stuff themselves on the addicting cocoa then ask what I wanted nicely later.

"Oh my God, why did all of my professors decide to give us so many assignments for our first year?" Alice demanded to no one in particular.

Jasper answered as any whipped boyfriend would by saying nothing and rubbing her hand with his thumb soothingly. Alice visibly calmed down and melted into him.

"I don't know, but please explain to me why all my professors decided to give me exams with no study guides?" Rosalie vented next.

Normally Emmett would say something stupid just to get us to laugh, but like me, he also learned his lesson last semester.

No sex for a month can really change a man.

"How did you guys get so lucky?" Alice whined. "I can't wait until midterms are over."

"It's almost done, baby. Then you can relax all you want." Jasper cooed in her ear, but we could still hear the underlying sex tone in his voice. He was practically begging for it.

Alice practically melted into him, but then perked up for some reason.

"Hey, what can I get you guys?"

Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. My lungs just stopped working.

I swear no one moved because time was going so slow.

As I turned to face the source of the voice, it gasped and I knew who it was. I just fucking knew before I saw her.


	4. Chapter 4

There she was, in all her beautiful glory, my Bella.

She was standing in front of our table, her long, dark hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. Her figure was still slim and curvy, her eyes showed everything I felt; shock, longing as well as fear—the one emotion we didn't share.

I didn't know I stood up until she took a step back while her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip.

"Do you two know each other?" Alice asked behind us, but it didn't break our connection.

"You could say that." I answered. It earned a lovely appearance of Bella's blush.

I fucking missed that.

"Ok," Emmett drawled out. "Care to tell us the secret?"

Before anyone else could talk, a loud voice called out.

"Hey, Bella, come pick up these orders for table nine."

Our connection was broken and Bella flinched when the voice demanded her attention in such a fucking inconsiderate way.

"Be right back." She whispered then scurried away.

I could only stare at her retreating form for just a few seconds before I was forced back into my seat by my muscular roommate.

"What the hell, dude?" Emmett asked confused.

The girls were giving similar expressions while Jasper looked like he was calculating something. He was putting the fucking pieces together before anyone else.

"Edward?" The girls practically screeched.

But I couldn't concentrate on them, my eyes followed Bella. Every step she took was calculated, careful…looks like she hasn't gotten over her clumsiness. I almost wish she never would, I found it too fucking cute.

Thankfully, she handled her tray without any incident. The only problem was the booth she was delivering the food to was full of truckers. They were eye-fucking her and she was clearly half their age.

I had to grip the table to make sure I didn't start a fight with them or whisk her away like my instincts were screaming at me to do.

As if she could read my mind, Bella made eye contact with me as she turned to leave the table of douches silently begging for me to stay put. Reluctantly, I did only because I would do anything she asked of me.

After returning her tray to another waitress, she came back to our table looking embarrassed.

"Sorry about that, have you decided what you want?" This time she didn't look up from her notepad.

"Two monster chocolate sundaes, please," Emmett answered with a grin.

"Two?" I nearly forgot how cute her confused face was. I couldn't help but chuckle at it.

Of course, I forgot how much she hated that, her scowl reminded me, but it only made me smile more. Either way, her face was really fucking cute.

"Sure, one for them and one for me." Emmett explained like it was obvious.

"Ok, anything else, salad, fries, insulin?" She asked with a straight face and I lost it.

Everyone else joined it which made Bella truly smile for the first time tonight.

"Just five waters and maybe your phone number, please." Alice said seriously.

Bella and I sobered up quick then looked at Alice, or in my case, fucking glared at her.

But Alice wasn't fazed by our reaction, she just shrugged her shoulders fucking nonchalant.

"I'll…um…I'll put that in for you." Bella stammered then stumbled away.

I nearly stood up to walk her to the kitchen just to make sure she got there in one piece. Maybe I should just…

"Old chemistry, Edward," Alice was smug and so was Rosalie.

Jasper and Emmett caught on and, thankfully, stayed quiet.

"Thanks for messing that up, Alice." I seethed.

"Don't be so dramatic, Alice was just having a little fun with you two." Rosalie defended for her pixie roommate. "Now spill, how do you two know each other?"

I leaned closer towards the girls still scowling.

"Never mind," I said through my clenched teeth.

Before anyone could say anything further, another waitress waltzed up to our table.

"Hello, I'm Bree and I'll be taking care of the rest of your needs tonight." She was eyeing me when she said that. Her innuendo was bluntly obvious.

"What happened to the other girl?" Jasper asked politely.

Bree barely turned her over-styled, bleached head in his direction to answer. "Oh, you mean Bella? Her shift just ended a few minutes ago."

I didn't need to hear anything else before I got up and ran out the door ignoring the calls from the table. I needed to find Bella. I couldn't lose her again.

I ran out to the parking lot next to the diner, but I didn't see her old beat up Chevy.

Could she have gotten a new car?

As I walked further down the road, I saw her walking down the sidewalk.

"Bella," I shouted for her, but she didn't turn around.

I ran to catch up with her which didn't take long with my long legs.

Gently, I touched her shoulder, but it still spooked her. She jumped turning to face me looking like she was going to defend herself. It made me sick to think that she would need to do that.

In fact, looking at her under the street light, she looked much more fragile since high school. She had dark purple bags under her lovely eyes, and while I was right that she was still curvy, she was also skinner than I remembered. Maybe it was from the coat she was wearing—she always did like to wear things twice her size choosing comfort over style anytime.

I was so lost in my memories that I only registered her lips moving, but didn't hear the words.

"I'm sorry to scare you, but I…you…" I couldn't get the words out, so I did the only thing I could think of.

Grabbing her gently, I pulled her into my body just wanting to feel her heat combine with mine.

At first she stayed limp, but then she wrapped her arms around my waist. I took it further and nuzzled my face gently into her hair. It was soft and smelled like strawberries just as I remembered.

"Bella," I mumbled.

There were so many things I wanted to say, but I couldn't for some reason.

I wasn't ready when she pulled back, but unable to refuse her anything, I did and kept my arms around her slipping them down her back.

"Hello, love." I smiled at her.

When I saw her face, it was wet with fresh tears, but I couldn't tell if she was sad, angry, or happy.

"Baby, what's wrong?" I asked reaching up and wiping away the trail from her cheeks.

She shook her head as if she couldn't answer my question.

"It doesn't matter, anyway, it doesn't matter. We're together again, and I'm not letting anyone take you away from me again." I promised.

She looked back up at me and I saw the hope, but it was mixed with fear.

"Bella, please say something, anything." I begged.

"There are so many things, but I don't know where…" She stammered.

"It's ok, love, it'll be ok." I said softly. "Just take your time. It doesn't matter anyway."

At that her head shot up to look around us like we were being followed. I glanced around too just in case of danger. I wasn't ready to part with my woman tonight…or ever if I had my way.

"Not here, please." She begged.

"Please, Bella, I can't lose you again." I pleaded.

"I know, but it's not safe." She said quietly.

"Fuck it. I'll hide you somewhere your parents or anyone else can't find you." I held her face in between my hands. "We can be together just the two of us."

Something flashed in her eyes, but she hid it before I could really recognize it.

"I'm…I'm sorry. I want to run with you, but I can't." She tried to pull away, but I gently held her still by her shoulders.

"No, no please don't do this to me." I cried. "Do you have any idea how much I still love you even after all this time?"

Her wondrous brown eyes met my broken green eyes. "You do?"

"Did you think I would ever forget about you? All the promises I made to you?"

I saw the doubt in her eyes.

"Bella, I promised to love you every day of my life, and I have even though you're parents ripped us apart." Another flash, but this time it was anger and hate.

"They hurt us so bad, baby, and we didn't deserve it. They were just jealous that we found our connection at such a young age, but it doesn't matter how old we are I still love you, Isabella Marie."

I waited, holding my breath as she stared into my eyes for an ungodly amount of time.

My lungs were about to explode, but I needed to hear this and my patience was rewarded.

"I've always loved you too," She said. "But we have to talk. So much has changed." She was being cryptic, but I didn't fucking care because she said she loved me.

Her declaration was enough for me to smile like a goddamn fool.

I bent down to kiss her only to be stopped by her fingers meeting my lips. I looked at her confused.

"I said we have to talk, Edward." She was annoyed now. "Please, you have to understand that while I do love you, we need to keep this quiet for now."

I kissed her fingers before lacing them with mine. She was right. I had forgotten that her father, the Chief of Police, had connections here in Seattle and they've have been constantly watching my father and me. They could be watching us now…watching me with her.

"I promise we will talk, but please tell me I can contact you. Now that I found you I need some sort of connection to you again." I begged.

She hesitated for a moment before releasing my hand to ruffle through her pocket. I had to hide my hurt.

"Here, write your number on this." She handed me a slip of paper and a pen. "I will contact you every day if you want, but don't try to contact me just yet."

I looked at her confused before gesturing her to turn around so I could write on her back. She laughed when she did which brought a smile to my face.

I know I sound whipped when I say that the sound of her giggles was like music that lights up my darkest nights, but I don't give a flying fuck.

When she turned back around, I gave her the paper and pen, but she gestured that I keep the pen.

"It's a little something to remember me by." She muttered with a small smile.

"Please don't wait too long to call me, but do it when you know you're safe." I told her retying our fingers back together. "I can't lose you again."

"You're starting to sound like a broken record." She joked.

I let out a pitiful laugh because I did sound like a broken record and that's what I felt like too.

"When's the best time to call you?" She asked as humble as ever.

I pushed some of the hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear relishing in the soft strains in between my fingers.

"Anytime, love. I will always answer no matter what." I promised.

She smiled shyly before rising on her toes to kiss my cheek. Her face became redder.

"I have to go, but trust me when I say I'll call you."

"Trust me when I say I love you, Bella." I kissed her forehead in return.

"I love you too, Edward." I heard her whisper before she started to walk away.

Our hands stayed connected until she walked out of my grasp. It took all my effort to stay put and not go after her. I made her a promise and I intended to keep it.

I would wait for as long as she needed.


	5. Chapter 5

After Bella turned the corner and disappeared from my sight, my heart felt like it was being ripped in two. But I had to be strong.

Ignoring my heart for now, I walked back into the diner and sat down with my friends. None of them said a word to me. They had already finished eating and paid the bill, so we left shortly after I arrived.

We had taken Emmett's car which was great for me since I had too much on my mind. As we drove through the streets of Seattle, I kept a watch out for my woman happily knowing she still was my mine.

Bella still loved me and had never stopped. It made me want to run around campus screaming and laughing like a maniac, but at the same time I wanted to wallow in self-misery because my woman could not be by my side where she belonged. However, it wasn't safe for us yet, and I needed to be patient. I needed to trust Bella, and I did with every fiber of my being.

The next day I was on edge, waiting all day for my fucking phone to fucking ring, but it never fucking did.

I wanted to be angry, but I had to remember Bella and her promise.

I knew her so well; she wouldn't break a promise, ever. Especially to me, and I wouldn't break any of my promises to her.

It's late. Emmett and Jasper were in the common area watching a game that I refused to watch with them. Mike had tagged along with them, but noting the time he would've wondered away to begin hunting by now.

Just as I was rereading my fucking paper that wasn't due until next Monday for the fourth time, my phone rang.

I nearly fell out of my chair and dumped all my shit on the floor before I finally found the fucking device in my coat pocket.

I answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" I expected to hear Bella's musical voice instead I get a gruff, familiar voice.

"Hello, son, I didn't catch you at a bad time, did I?" My father asked.

I huffed out a frustrated breath. "No, dad, I've just been waiting for a call all fucking day." I said through clenched teeth while pulling my hand through my hair.

"Boy, watch you're mouth. You may be over eighteen now, but you are still my son and you will treat me with respect even when I'm dead and buried." He demanded through the phone.

I took a breath to calm down. My nerves were shot and I shouldn't have taken it out on my old man.

"I'm sorry, dad. I've just been stressed." I explained.

"School would do that to you, son, or would it be something else?" He hinted.

"What do you mean?" I asked back.

"Have you been seeing this Bella-look-a-like girl still around campus?"

I chuckled at that.

"Edward, I don't see how this is humorous."

"It was her, dad. She had been on campus."

"Slow down, son, and tell me what you mean."

"Bella is here in Seattle. My friends and I went to the diner on 48th Street and she was our waitress. I thought I was dreaming, but I wasn't. When her shift ended I followed her outside to talk to her."

"You did?" I could hear his pen scratching in the background.

"Dad, please don't investigate into this. Let me do it, she promised she would call me when she could and I think we let her."

"Has she said anything about her whereabouts or where she has been?" He said in his business tone.

"No, she said we should talk, but we couldn't then. I think she's scared."

"She has every right to be, Edward."

The way he said that made my stomach tie up in knots.

"Did she give you her number or did you give her yours?" He asked.

"I only gave her mine." I answered. "Dad, what did you mean when you said 'she had every right to be'?"

He took a steady breath and I imagine that he was running his hand through his hair.

"I have been shadowing Charlie and Renee, son. I didn't want to give you everything until I was sure, and I don't want to discuss everything with you over the phone."

"I'll come by your office tomorrow after my last class." I left no room for argument and he didn't give one just a hearty chuckle.

"You really would make a good lawyer, son."

"That's what I'm working for, dad. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

"Sounds great, Edward. Don't call to tell me when Bella calls you just in case. That Newton boy you're rooming with doesn't make me feel comfortable."

It was my turn to chuckle. "You don't have to ask me twice, dad. Bye."

"So long, son,"

I hung up the phone and tried to get back to work, but it was fucking hopeless. Instead, I just went to bed at eight fucking thirty. AGAIN!

The next morning, I was filled with anxiety and time couldn't move fast enough. Plus, it also sucked that my one and only professor today decided to change our fucking schedule and show a film. If I had known, I would have skipped class. So I just endured it.

As soon as the slow-ass, hellish nightmare was over, I nearly ran back to my dorm to dump my shit and grab my keys. What dad said last night about shadowing Renee and Charlie had been plaguing my thoughts all night and morning. I needed to know what he found.

Thankfully, my class was in the early morning so I didn't hit a lot of traffic on the road, nor was I pulled over for speeding.

I made it to dad's building in no time and was up in his office in even less time thanks to the stairs. I was too anxious to take the elevator.

Dad's secretary wasn't at her station, so I just went up to his door and knocked.

I heard a muffled 'come in' and didn't even hesitate.

My dad was looking over something on his computer and talking to someone on the phone; he waved me over to one of the chairs in front of his desk as he finished his call.

My knee bounced until he hung up the phone and typed a few more keys before taking off his reading glasses and giving me his undivided attention.

"What have you found out?" I asked getting straight to the point.

My dad's moustache twitched before he got up and walked over to one of his filing cabinets. I recognized this one as his most important cases that were for his eyes only.

He pulled out two files and locked the cabinet back up before coming back to his desk. Without opening it or saying a word, he handed me the files.

One said Charles Swan and the other Renee Dwyer.

"As you can see," He said as I flipped through the documents. "After Bella was pulled out of Washington, Charles and Renee continued on with their lives. Charles continued his work in Forks while Renee lived as a housewife in Florida with her new husband, Phil Dwyer.

"The happy couple moved there shortly after Bella moved in with them, Phil was signed on with the minor league team in Jacksonville. Unfortunately, it was short lived for him.

"He had an accident during his first game last season. Renee has a teaching certificate and found work to compensate for the loss of income, but then Bella is a bit of a mystery."

I gave him an inquisitive look.

He walked back to his desk and held up a file that was already out.

"There wasn't much on Bella, Edward; I found no records of her being enrolled in any school system in Jacksonville, nor in Phoenix."

"She was homeschooled." I concluded for him.

He nodded his head before continuing.

"Next comes in Charles who has saved up quite a large sum of money over the years." I quickly glanced into his records. "Don't worry, son, I've already looked into his records thoroughly and there is nothing suspicious. Charlie was just good at saving money considering that he already owns his current home in Forks."

"Bella once said that he inherited it from his parents when he and Renee were first married."

"Yes, I've already looked into that. Charles and Renee got the house from his parents and also in their will they set up an inheritance for Bella as well."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes, no other beneficiary besides her, and she was to receive full access to it by her eighteenth birthday. The unfortunate part is that it hasn't been touched at all by her. I have found that her parents have been trying—unsuccessfully by the way—to gain access to it."

"They'll need a good lawyer for that, but their money looks pretty tied up right now." I added.

My father chuckled, dropping his business façade for a moment. "You are too good at this, Edward. I should have remembered to keep my business at work instead of bringing it home like your mother often warned me."

I shrugged and got back to the files before me.

"They're trying to keep Bella from gaining access to the money." I started for him.

"Yes, and tracking her through the measly amount she has in her bank account."

I looked up at him again waiting for him to continue.

"Bella has been missing for several months now, son. As you can see the airplane tickets from her mother and father, they've been on the hunt for her, but haven't been successful.

"In fact, Bella has seemed to drop off the face of the earth until your little run-in with her the other night."

"She's been hiding from them, but how did she get into Washington undetected?"

"Ah, a mystery I've been trying to solve since you first told me you saw her.

"I had a feeling that it was her, so I tried to think like her. Her personal little bank account has been left untouched since she left Forks, and she doesn't own a credit card in her name. Her parents' credits haven't been tampered with, but then I looked into Phil's accounts and I found something suspicious. First of all, Phil Dwyer had taken out some money from a bank account that was set up to collect his salary from his minor league years.

"I then did some calculations and figured that the amount withdrawn would be more than enough to purchase a ticket."

"Like a plane ticket?" I asked.

"Probably so, and my suspicions were correct. The person I just got off the phone with was Billy Black, remember him?"

"That's Jacob Black's father, why would he be involved with this?"

"Edward, it wasn't commonly known, since this happened mostly on tribal lands, but Mr. Black and Charles got into a heated argument…over what, it's anyone's guess.

"After that, though, such longtime friends separated and haven't spoken to each other since. Their phone records confirm that."

He turned his laptop towards me, and sure enough, the records were still on the screen.

"Mr. Black had no comment on the argument, but did tell me that Bella was safe. His son, Jacob, picked her up from the airport in Tacoma and brought her to the reservation."

"And out of Charlie's hands." I finished.

On tribal lands, Charlie had no say what happened on the reservation and could get himself arrested if he had tried anything without the tribe's authorization. Dad was one of the few lawyers in town that helped the Quileute's with some territory disputes since we moved to Forks making him more respected which didn't sit too well with Charlie Swan I later learned.

"Yes, but after that, he did not wish to tell me anymore on the matter. I suspect he's protecting Bella's current location, it wouldn't surprise me if he knew where she was."

"Billy doesn't even trust any of his friends outside of the reservation." I nodded my head in understanding. I know I would do the same thing. "Can you tell me anything else about Bella, like how she's been?"

"Now this is the tricky part." My father smiled. Like me he loved a good challenge. "After their move to Jacksonville, Bella had been going to the woman's clinic where they seal their patients' records making them confidential to all outside parties. I cannot access her records without a warrant which is something Charles is watching out for."

"A woman's clinic," I questioned.

"Yes, Charles, Renee, and Phil are keeping it all tight lipped. Jenks has offered to hack into the files, but I don't think that would be such a good idea right now.

"Continuing on, after going to the clinic for several weeks, Bella was admitted into the hospital for a week before she was released. Again I have to get a warrant for the records and Charles is keeping an eye out for that too."

This puzzled me, but it also scared me. Was Bella sick? Is she still?

"Have you tried looking for her since I told you where she works?" I asked.

He took a big breath and I knew this wasn't good. He was trying to compose himself. "I fear to do that, son. Charles' influence is strongest here in Washington which is why I'm trying to start up my old firm back in Chicago—somewhere out of his reach."

I look down at my lap which was still covered with papers, pictures, and documents about Bella's parents. Their life's story is clearly written out…their every action has been documented well, painting a picture simple enough to figure out what they were thinking. Except, we were missing key details like why was Bella taken to the clinic and admitted into the hospital?

Those questions scared me the most.

"Has she contacted you yet?" Dad asked.

I shook my head then cleared my throat. "No, I'm thinking she's worried about someone catching her. We did talk on a sidewalk underneath a streetlight, or maybe she doesn't have access to a phone."

"My thought's exactly." He agreed. "But, Edward, I want you to keep an open mind at all times as well as a weather eye."

"And you keep watching Charlie and Renee; I don't want either one of them on my ass." I retorted.

He chuckled, but held out his hand for me to shake.

"It's a deal." He said. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way; let's go out for lunch. Shall we?"

I nodded in agreement.

Dad had taken the rest of the day off and we hung out just the two of us. Before mom died, dad wasn't around so much. He was always working while my mom both worked as a teacher and as a mother. He said it was his one regret, and after we moved he took more time to hang out with me, coming to my piano recitals, my games, essentially becoming two parents in one…except he was a lousy cook. Still, he was my dad, and as fucking cliché as it sounds, is the best there is.

I got back to the dorms late after having dinner with dad and watching a game on his big screen. Thankfully, Mike had already left for the weekend while Jazz and Em were still in our room playing a card game.

"Where are the girls?" I asked.

"At Alice's house, they're having a sleepover and hitting the spa all day tomorrow." Jazz answered.

"And I thought tomorrow we could have a sex marathon." Emmett groaned.

"Where were you?" Jasper asked me ignoring Emmett.

"Just visiting my dad," I answered.

He eyed me for a minute, but let whatever he was thinking dropped. Emmett, however, didn't.

"So, what was up with you and the waitress last night, man?"

Jasper wacked his head before I could.

Like Billy Black, I didn't know how much I could trust these guys, even if they had been good to me so far.

"You don't have to tell us, Ed." Jasper said, but I could tell he was curious.

I snorted, but spoke anyways just not giving many details.

"That waitress was Bella, my Bella." There short and sweet.

"What! No fucking way." Emmett jumped up from his spot on the bed. "Are you going to see her again?" He grinned wagging his eyebrows.

This time, I was fast and clobbered him before he moved out of my striking range.

"Dude, I have no fucking clue where she is in this huge-ass city." I seethed. "If I did I would throw her over my shoulder and carry her out of the state in a heartbeat."

"Have you talked to your dad?" Jasper asked calmly.

I huffed out my frustration before answering. "Yeah, but until the other night, she was a ghost. Her parents have been looking for her for weeks now with no luck, thank fucking God."

"Wow, her parents must be strict if they want to keep her on such a short leash." Emmett commented.

"More like they didn't want her to settle with a town trouble-maker like me." I pointed out sarcastically.

They looked at me like I'd grown two more heads.

"My dad and I moved to Forks during my sophomore year and I had always been quiet, so I was dubbed the badass-seed by the end of the year because I didn't behave like a normal child of Forks. Bella's parents thought I was always going to be a fucking pretty boy who depended on his daddy's money, so she was forbidden from even looking at me."

"Sounds like they were worried about her," Jasper spoke up.

"Worried my Goddamn ass, they just wanted to control her. She wasn't even allowed out of the house after she got home from school except for extracurricular activities or if she got a job. They just wanted her to focus getting out of the small town and into a big city before settling down."

"And let me guess, you swept her off her feet when you first met her." Emmett laughed.

I chuckled at the memory. "Wrong, stupid, she fell into me the first time we met, knocked me over then landed on top of me."

"So she swept you off your feet and took your breath away." Emmett joked fluttering his eyelashes and clutching his heart.

My heart was crushing over the memories, but I welcomed the pain because the memories made me laugh.

"Yeah, she showed up to a party with the preacher's daughter. We ended up drunk off our asses and danced all night. The next morning we woke up in a field behind the house with her on top of me." I rubbed my neck absentmindedly thinking about the accidental hickey I got that night and how I wished it was fucking permanent.

"Ah, good times, good times," Emmett fell back on his bed and stared at the ceiling dreamily.

"Just keep remembering those good times, dude, and they'll keep the pain away." Jasper said.

I nodded my head in gratitude to the both of them. They really were my best friends.

"Ok, now if we're done braiding our hair let's start this night off fucking right." Emmett bellowed bringing out his newly stocked supply of beer from under his bed.


	6. Chapter 6

Three a.m. and I'm still awake. Jasper and Emmett crashed about an hour ago from the drinks while I was still nursing my third. I was stargazing from the small hole in the wall the school calls a window when my phone rang.

Who would be calling me at this fucking hour?

The caller ID said it was a local number, but wasn't one I recognized. Still, I answered it anyway.

"Hello?"

"Edward…I'm sorry if I woke you. I'll let you go back to sleep…"

"Bella! No, babe, don't worry I wasn't asleep. Please don't hang up on me."

"I don't know why I'm calling you at this hour."

"It doesn't matter. Please, love, talk to me; tell you're alright."

She sighed in relief, but answered. "I'm fine, everything is fine."

It was my turn to sigh in relief. "Maybe it's better we talk this late, so that no one catches on."

"What?"

"I know you ran away from your parents, Bella. You don't have to tell me where you are just tell me every time you call you're safe."

"I am, Edward, now…I am. But how do you know that I ran away, we didn't talk about that the other night?"

"Just know that your dad isn't the only dad who has connections." I chuckled quietly. "But my father's connections can reach a lot farther."

She giggled. "How is he?"

"He's good, but he misses your meatloaf."

"I swear that man only liked me for my cooking."

"Everyone loved your cooking, sweetheart. Me, I loved you and I still do."

"And I love you. To tell you the truth, you gave me the reason to run away. My friends just helped, but you gave me the reason to grow a fucking backbone."

I had to hold back the belly laugh. Rarely did my sweet Bella swear, and I found it incredibly adorable.

"Can I see you again?" I asked.

She hesitated. "I don't think that's a good idea right now, sweets. Don't get me wrong, I would love to, but right now we just can't."

She was right even if I didn't want to wholly accept that. "I get that, love. I'll tell you what, you call me whenever you want, but the first thing out of your mouth had better be the words 'I'm safe.' Next, you can lead the conversation. We can talk about anything you want; I won't judge or get angry if you change the subject."

"Really," I could practically see her eyebrow arched.

"Alright, I'll try not to get angry."

She giggled again and I would love nothing better than to harness those musical notes and play them forever.

"Finally…"

"This is a long list of demands you're making, sir."

"In your favor, woman," I laughed back. "Finally, if you ever decide you want to see me wherever, whenever, I don't care; I'll be there for you."

"Thanks." I heard her sniffle. "I'm sorry, Edward, but we can't just yet. Although, I would love to see you, it's too dangerous."

I couldn't help the sigh that flowed through my mouth. "I know, Bella, I know. Whenever you're ready come find me or my dad."

"Thank you, Edward. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

"Well, goodbye."

"Oh wait one final thing." I interrupted.

"Yes?"

"Never say goodbye. You should remember that rule we made together."

"Sorry, instead we'll just say I love you and hang up."

"I wish we didn't have to."

"What? Say I love you? Gee thanks, Edward."

My laugh almost escaped that time; it came out as more of a quiet chuckle thankfully.

"God, I miss you."

"I miss you too, Edward. But I have to go, I love you."

"And I love you." Like she promised, she hung up as soon as I said the words.

I was torn between jumping up and down on my bed thanking the heavens for this fucking blessing or drowning my sorrows in what was left of the alcohol. Instead, I settled for sending a text to my dad telling him the time Bella had called…only the time, though, no name or anything. He'll understand it.

After that, I stripped down to my boxers and went to sleep for the night dreaming of my woman and I bathing in a pool full of strawberry scented bubbles.

When the guys woke the next morning, they were hungover from last night and made me drive them to the diner for breakfast and coffee. I hardly resisted only because I wanted to see if my favorite waitress was there.

But she didn't show. I thought about asking our waiter we had if he knew Bella's schedule until I remembered the deal I had made with her. Plus it might be crossing the line as a stalker.

The weekend passed by with very fucking little to do. Even the other guys agreed with me. Their girlfriends didn't come back until late Sunday, so Em and Jazz were even more irritable. I could relate, but at least I got to talk to my Bella.

She called me again at three am like the night before. At first she apologized profusely about the hour, but I told her over and fucking over again that it didn't bother me. Then we stayed up talking for almost an mostly about me and how school was. When I asked her if she was attending school, she just said she was trying before changing the subject.

The rest of the week went by like this and I felt like I was on cloud nine; even though I was losing sleep I couldn't find it in me to fucking care.

The others had noticed my change that happened literally over night, but I couldn't tell them anything…not that I didn't trust them…it was just the fewer people who knew about Bella and my conversations the better.

After each call, though, I would text the time Bella had called to my dad which didn't take him too long to figure out. He asked again that I come in on Friday after my morning class to touch base with him.

This week was midterms, but my professors practically gave the answers to the exams, so I barely even studied. By Wednesday I was done with the not-so-challenging exams, however, my professors decided to give us the rest of the week off as if we needed to cool down from the hefty loads. Fuckers.

"I can't wait until this fucking week is over." I mumbled into my pillow after I got back from my evening class.

"I know, and Rosie won't even let me in her room. Talk about blue balls man." Emmett groaned. He had been going on about this every chance he got.

"Alice lets me in the room, but I can't touch her or I'll 'screw up her concentration,' she says." Jazz joined in.

"I just want this semester to be done so I can get to the real challenges." I added.

"I can't wait to get laid." Emmett grumbled into his mattress.

I shook my head at him while Jasper, sadly, nodded his head in agreement.

We couldn't bring out the booze again because it was in the middle of the week and Mike was going to be back later. As the goody-two-shoes he is, he would likely rat us out…that was something the three of us could not afford.

To boost up our testosterone—and to keep us entertained—I suggested we go find a game to watch. The guys grumbled again like fucking babies, but followed me anyways. Unfortunately, none of us were paying attention to the screen. The guys were still thinking about their girls and their fucking blue balls while I was thinking of Bella.

I was wondering if dad had found anything more or if I was going to see Bella in person again. I was being hypocritical, but I'm whipped by my woman and don't give a flying fuck about it.

After tucking our fucking tails in between our legs, the guys and I called it a night.

I stayed awake all night long waiting for my angel to call, but she never did.

The next day just dragged on and so did the night because Bella didn't call, again.

On Friday, I went to go see my dad except I felt like shit. I had barely slept all week and it was catching up to me. All I needed was to hear Bella's voice and then I could calm down…yeah, fat fucking chance at that.

"Boy, son, life hasn't been good to you lately, huh?" My dad tried to joke when he met me in the lobby.

I knew I looked like shit and he fucking knew why.

"Have you two made any progress?" He asked in a serious tone when the door to his office was closed.

"No," I answered. "But she barely talks about herself at all."

"How is that different from what she was like in high school?"

I gave him a deadpanned look.

"I was joking, son." He spoke softly, his version of an apology. "I have more news on Phil and Renee if you want to get back down to business."

"What is it?" I asked curtly.

"Since last we spoke, two major things happened in the Dwyer home. Firstly, Renee got a new job at a private elementary school—pretty nice salary for a teacher of her position too."

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked.

"Well, she'll need the money to support herself and pay for the divorce lawyer she hired." He answered.

This news shocked me until I remembered what dad told me about Phil's involvement with Bella's escape.

"She found out, didn't she?" I asked.

"Probably, son, but it wasn't Renee that filed the divorce papers…it was Phil."

Again, I was floored. Then again, it did make since Phil probably was fucking tired of the way his stepdaughter was being treated horribly by his wife and her ex-husband.

"Is he trying to cover his tracks; does he feel guilty about what he did?" I asked.

"It is possible, but I don't have the answers yet. I've been trying to contact him since I found out about the divorce, but haven't had much luck."

"Can you contact his lawyer? Say that you're involved in a case that pertains to him."

"I don't know if I can do that, Edward, it would risk Charles finding out how much I'm really digging into his and Renee's lives." He explained. "Already, I'm at risk and I don't feel comfortable about putting someone else in danger."

"Danger, what do you mean about that?" This did not fucking sound good.

"Did you know that a police officer is allowed to carry a weapon on a plane?" He asked me.

I shook my head no.

"All the times Charles has boarded a plane since his daughter's disappearance, he's been wearing his uniform and his gun has been checked in every time he passed through security."

I leaned back in my chair, running my fingers harshly through my hair.

Why did Charlie Swan need a gun to find his daughter?

"He's making it look like official police business, Edward." Dad answered my silent question. "He's trying to get more recognition for this case by making it look more serious than it is."

"So he's making it look like his daughter is a fugitive just because she fell in love?" I seethed. None of this made sense and it was fucking pissing me off.

"There isn't much else he can do besides speak out, but words are just as forceful as actions coming from a man in his position."

Then a thought occurred to me.

"Do you know if a message was left by Bella when she ran away?" I remembered reading one of dad's cases where a kid ran away, but left a note saying that he was safe and didn't want to be found. The police could do nothing because he was over eighteen and it was his choice.

Dad gave me a knowing look; he knew what I was thinking.

"Her parents did fill out a report with the Florida police…that was the one time I allowed Jenks to hack into a computer system.

"He copied the report and anything having to do with Bella's disappearance, and there was a note written in Bella's own handwriting. I can guarantee that it was her because I looked at the note myself and it was no forgery, son."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you have a timeline of when she left?" I asked.

"I have a theory, son. Looking at when Renee and Charles first started flying out frequently, I'd say that Bella left around Thanksgiving."

I gave a short chuckle; she was clever for sneaking out at that time when the airport was its peak crowd-wise.

"Brilliant girl she is." Dad muttered, but I nodded in agreement.

"I wonder how long she was able to hide out in La Push reservation before coming to Seattle." I muttered to myself.

"That, son, is a mystery that your girl could answer when she's ready. In the meantime, I'm afraid I cannot advance any further in this investigation."

My eyes bugged out in surprise.

"You're giving up?" I nearly shouted.

"Shhh, Edward, don't be ridiculous." He reassured me. "I'm only doing this because Jenks has been informing me that the Seattle police are buzzing around our name more than usual. It's already starting to put more pressure on me." He ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you think you have a leak, dad?" I asked.

"I hope not, son." He sighed. "There are very few who are aware of this case. I'm putting in a lot of effort into this at every spare moment I have, but I've also have my professional responsibilities to focus on as well, Edward."

"You know I appreciate you doing all this, dad." I told him honestly. "I don't think I've said thank you, but you know my feelings, right?"

"Of course I do, Edward." He said with a slight smile. "I want her back just as much as you do, but as of now, there is little that can be done until Bella comes out of hiding."

"She's smart." He nodded in agreement. "She won't come out until she knows she's safe."

"In my opinion, son, she's going to be running soon."

I felt like my heart just dropped to the floor along with my face. I didn't want to lose Bella again, but I didn't want her to be found either. I needed to talk to her and fast.

"I'll work on her, dad; maybe I can get her to trust us more to help her."

"Do what you can, let her know that our house is open and secure if she needs it."

"I will." This was a stupid thought and it undermined my promise, but I felt that it needed to be done. "Dad, do you think you can check on a number for me?" I asked.

"Now, Edward, do you really think Bella would appreciate you stalking her?" He asked solemnly.

"I think we're already passed that." I said in an equally serious tone while pulling out my phone. "She's been calling from this number. I was wondering if you can get an idea of where's she calling from." I handed him the phone with the number displayed.

He took it and studied the screen.

"Hmm," He muttered. "It looks familiar." Pulling off a post-it note from its stack, he jotted down the number. "I'll look into it, but I don't want to go too much into this just in case. I'll start with phone numbers we've used recently and see if any of them match."

"Be careful." I said grabbing my phone back from his outreached hand.

"Always am, and the same goes to you, kid." He smiled.

"Always am." I copied him and smiled the same way as well.

I left the office shortly after that with a promise from dad saying that he would contact me when he could. It meant that he was going to take this part slowly so that no one could catch on in case there was a mole in our system.

For the rest of the afternoon, my temper began to pulse. I was losing my patience wondering when Bella would call again, when would she be safe again, when would we be together again? I hated it all. All the drama going on in our lives, I just wanted it to stop.

Bella was my world, why couldn't anyone see that?

My dorm room was too quiet with no one else there, so I decided to put on my jogging shoes and go run to clear my head. I jogged away from the campus and down the street to a small park. It wasn't raining, but there was snow on the ground. Still there were a few families taking advantage of the calm evening.

I stopped to rest by a large spruce to stretch out my muscles that were starting to cramp up. I guess I need to get back in shape. But it felt good. The tension that had been building up in my system ever since Bella came back into my life was finally starting to slow down…not stop, just cool down enough to let me fucking breathe.

As I was concentrating on stretching out my leg muscles on a nearby tree, my phone started to ring. Normally I wouldn't answer it during one of my workouts, but with everything going on I fucking needed to.

"Hello?" I answered without looking at the caller id more focused on the slight burning in my leg.

"Edward?" It was Bella and she sounded a little hysterical.

"Bella?" I whispered just in case our conversation was overheard. "Hey, how are you?" I asked trying to ignore my gut feeling so that I'd appeared normal.

"I'm…I'm not safe anymore." I thought my heart just stopped.

Looking around quick, I spied no suspicious activity so I leaped into the nearby bushes walking further into the small wooded area for protection.

"Ok, baby, talk to me; what's wrong?" I asked seriously, but tried to keep my voice calm for her sake.

"I can't believe I'm doing this, but I have no other choice." She started stammering. "Edward, I need help, please help me."

Another characteristic of Bella that I loved so much was her value for independence; she would have to be in serious trouble or danger before she'd reach out for any kind of help.

"Love, I need you to slow down and take a deep breath." She did a few times. "Now, can you tell me what you need?"

"I need…I need a safe place." She was starting to cry, I could hear that in her voice.

"Alright, tell me where you are and I'll come pick you up." I told her. "I'll take you someplace safe, you trust me, right?"

"Yes, but…"

"No buts." I interrupted her. "Tell me where you are."

"A little park near U-Dub, I thought it would be easier for you if we met halfway." She tried to chuckle.

"Thanks, baby, but I think I'm already here. I just went for a run." I laughed with her.

"What a coincidence." She mumbled.

"Just tell me where you are precisely." I told her.

"Right in front of the tree line on the west side of the park, I'm trying to stay hidden…you know…just in case."

"I understand that, love, and I'm pretty close to where you are believe it or not." I chuckled again moving cautiously out of my little hideout.

"What are you standing in front of?" I asked.

"The swings," She answered.

I could see them perfectly clearly from where I stood.

"Alright, I'll see you soon." I said still playing my role.

"Edward, just one more thing…um…can you please keep an open mind and don't jump to conclusions?" She asked so timidly.

I paused mid-step. "Why?" I asked simply.

"I…ah…I…Well you see…Agh, just get down here please." She huffed out frustrated.

"Ok," I drawled then started moving again.

"I love you." She whispered in the phone then hung up.

After I stuck my phone back in my pocket, I started to jog…no, I flat out ran because she was so close. I could feel the electricity in the air and it was getting stronger the more I pushed myself towards her.

It felt like ages since the last time we had seen each other, and the uncertainty of when I was going to be able to see her, hold her again was becoming unbearable.

As I made my way around a small cluster of trees I saw her hair, beautiful brown silk dancing with the wind. She was looking the other way; I see her sense of direction hadn't improved much.

I pushed my legs harder, anxious to hold her close to me and never let her go.

Barely 20 feet away from her two things happened at once. One, she was turning towards me. And two, I happened looked down to what she was gripping onto so tightly; a stroller with a baby cocooned in it. The latter made me freeze on contact.


	7. Chapter 7

A baby, a baby…what the fucking hell was going on here?

"Edward." Bella pushed the stroller closer to me as she was walking over to meet me.

I stayed perfectly still just looking at the little bundle barely even registering the delicious burning flow of electricity from when Bella's body smashed into mine.

It felt like a lifetime before Bella's small hands pulled my face down to meet hers, effectively pulling me out of my trance.

"You promised." She said quietly.

She was right, I had promised to keep a clear head, BUT WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?

My eyes must have reflected what my head was screaming because Bella released my face, but connected our hands together and led the three of us deeper into the tree line. The wheels of the stroller sliced through the snow easily as Bella expertly pushed it with one hand. Her hand in mine was the only thing keeping me mobile.

We didn't go far from the trail, but we were remote enough no one could eavesdrop on us either. There was a fallen log that Bella led us too…she had to push on my chest in order to get me to sit down. Before sitting down herself, the baby started fussing a bit to which Bella simply bent to picked it up and cuddled the little one into her chest.

I simply stared at the pair.

"Ok, Edward." Bella started sitting next to me. "I know what you're thinking…"

"I can't think." I mumbled interrupting her.

She let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Sorry." I said. "But you have to understand…"

"I know this is a shock to you," She finished for me. "Believe me, it was for me too."

I buried my face in my hands and took a breath just trying to keep the oxygen circulating through my lungs so that I didn't pass out.

"I found out I was pregnant a couple of months after my mom took me back. You don't know how much I wished to tell you, but I couldn't." I looked up at her to see a tear escape her eye.

Out of reflex I caught it before it ran down her beautiful face.

"What's her name?" I asked in a whisper.

Bella let out a shaky laugh and looked at the baby adoringly.

"Elizabeth, Elizabeth Marie Masen." She answered.

My heart fluttered and beamed with happiness without my permission especially when I took a closer look at the little one, and there was no question she was mine. Besides from inheriting her mother's cute little nose, lips and heart-shaped face, Elizabeth had my bronze hair—that thankfully wasn't unruly—it curled softly like Bella's, and my piercing green eyes.

"She's beautiful." I smiled.

I didn't know it until Bella dragged her finger softly on my face that I was crying, and I wasn't a pussy to admit it if you'd asked.

"Yeah, she is." Bella had tears in her eyes too.

I noticed how rosy Elizabeth's cheeks and nose were getting and began to worry.

"We should get her out of the cold and you too."

"You should look in a mirror." Bella retorted.

I chuckled and helped her up, but then realized that I didn't drive here.

"Bella, did you drive here?" I asked.

"No, did you?" She asked while buckling up Elizabeth who apparently didn't like being put back in the stroller.

"No, I was jogging." I shrugged.

"Was there a lot on your mind?" She knew me all too well, but she sounded embarrassed.

"You weren't the cause for the tension, love." I tried to reassure her.

She looked at me in disbelief. Yeah, I didn't fool her at all.

Suddenly, I got an idea, but didn't know how Bella would feel about it.

"Um, can I call someone to come get us? He'll help us; I just fucking know he will."

"Sure, but don't be swearing around our baby." She scolded, but my heart fluttered again when she said our baby. "Who is it?" She asked.

"Um, my dad," It came out as a question.

"Your dad lives in Seattle?" She asked back.

"Yeah, it's a long story, but we need to get you two out of here before either of you catch a cold."

"You too," She giggled pointing down to my sweat pants. She and Elizabeth were more bundled up than I was, but I was hardly cold at all.

I chuckled while pulling out my phone.

"Hello?" Dad answered.

"Hey, dad, you'll never believe who I ran into." I said like a fucking five year old.

"Well, someone's excited. What did you see, the Easter bunny?" He teased.

"Someone even fucking better than that," I ended up being chastised by both my dad and Bella who continued to slap me.

"Sorry, no, but it is better than the Easter bunny. It's Bella."

"What, son, say that again? Did I hear you correctly?"

"Oh yeah, dad, here she is." I switched the phone to speaker and motioned for Bella to say something.

"Um, hi, Ed," She said timidly.

"Oh my, Bella, it's so nice to hear your voice again. How are you, dear?" He asked.

"I'm doing fine, but we're in a little bit of a dilemma." She answered.

"What can I do?"

"Come pick us up? We're at the park a few miles off of campus."

"I'm just leaving the office, be there in two shakes of a lambs tail."

"I hope we didn't pull you away from anything." I had to roll my eyes—typical Bella.

"No, Bella dear." He chuckled then hung up.

I led Bella back into the park then snuggled with her on a bench. Elizabeth was wrapped up in both our arms for warmth.

Watching her, I learned something about my daughter. When she smiled I saw why Bella decided to name her Elizabeth, she didn't smile crookedly like me and my dad. Her smile was more mischievous like she had a secret she wasn't telling. I remember my mother always smiling like that which my father always said drew people in just to learn what was inside her head.

Not too long later, my dad pulled up in his Mercedes and another thought struck me.

"Can that stroller turn into a car seat?" I asked Bella.

Thankfully she nodded her head and pulled out a base of some sort from the stroller's basket.

"Hey kids." Dad greeted us, but stopped right when he really saw us.

"Hey dad,"

"Hi Ed,"

Elizabeth just turned her head towards the new voice. Dad stared right back at her dumbfounded.

"How could I have missed this?" I heard him mumble to himself then I thought I saw a light bulb click on. "I'm losing it." He smiled then came closer.

"Hello, little one, my, you are adorable, aren't you?" He cooed making Elizabeth smile and giggle.

I couldn't help but join in the laughter she was too cute for words.

"Have a carseat ready?" He asked Bella who pointed to the base in her hands. "Perfect, let's get going." With that he turned and walked away with my daughter.

Bella and I looked at each other and shook our heads at my dad's antics.

It took some time, but Bella was able to show us how to put in a carseat and fold up the stroller so that it would fit in the trunk. It was a hassle for me, but she handled it like a pro.

The two of us sat in the back on either side of Elizabeth while dad drove five miles under the speed limit. Normally, I would tease him about driving like an old man, but right now I was holding my tongue to tell him to drive ten miles under the fucking speed limit.

The car ride was really quiet especially when Elizabeth fell asleep about two minutes in.

"It's the motor; it calms her down enough to sleep sometimes." Bella explained.

"Sounds like someone I know." She blushed at that.

I had noticed that the car ride was taking longer than usual and it wasn't from the slow snail pace we were going.

"Dad, why did you miss the turn?" I asked when we missed our exit off the freeway.

"I don't want to risk anyone following us, son. Luckily, no one is for now." He answered.

This made me perk up a bit. Luckily, the car's windows were tinted making the inside darker than the outside even on a bright sunny day.

I noticed Bella was also a little more jumpy especially when I reached over to touch her hand. She calmed down when she looked at our joined hands, but I could still see the slight fear in her eyes. I couldn't kiss her without jostling Elizabeth's carseat, so I just settled showing her my reassurance with my eyes.

Half hour later, dad quickly pulled into his driveway and parked in the garage in record time.

"Glad to see something's don't change." Bella joked, but looked a bit pale.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but I needed to move quickly." Dad reassured her before getting out of the car.

Bella was unbuckling Elizabeth's seat from the base as I ran around to her side to open her door.

She smiled at me in thanks.

Always the fucking gentleman—and to make up for lost time—I gently grabbed Elizabeth from Bella along with the big diaper bag.

She looked at me like she was going to protest, but I gave her my famous smile that always dazzled her. With it, thankfully, she let this go…for now.

Bella stayed by Elizabeth's side as we made our way up to the side door only tearing her gaze from our daughter when she entered the house. I literally heard her breath being taken away by the sight.

This house was larger than our old home in Forks. Dad had downgraded considerably when we first moved from Chicago because the houses there were almost all modest in Forks. When we moved to Seattle, dad decided to live in one of the homes he owned so that he wouldn't be bothered with too much paperwork and a mortgage for when we would leave in a few years.

"This is so beautiful. How do you two pick out the good ones?" Bella asked.

"Good business sense, nothing major, sweet pea." Dad joked. "Now, let me go see if I can find Edward's old crib while he shows you around."

I didn't get a chance to refuse before he was gone.

I growled under my breath. All I wanted was to sit down and talk to my girl…and hold my new baby girl who was now awake after being jostled around and currently looking around the room much like her mother was earlier.

Speaking of her mother…

"Bella, where did you go?" I called out not knowing what to do about Elizabeth.

"I'm in here." She said coming in from the direction of the kitchen. Why didn't I think of that? "I was just looking around while you were standing there like a statue." She giggled.

"Funny, Swan." I rolled my eyes.

"I live to make you laugh, Masen, admit it." She retorted as she pulled Elizabeth's seat from my hand then set it down to unbuckle her from the carrier.

I wrapped my arms around her middle from behind. "I just live for you, love." I kissed her neck.

"Edward." She slightly moaned.

"Yes?" I whispered against her skin taking in her scent.

"Not in front of the baby." She said huskily.

"She's just watching her parents fall in love with each other all over again." I chuckled in her ear.

"Edward." She said a little more harshly and I could tell that she wasn't playing anymore.

"Joking, babe," I relaxed my grip on her, but didn't let go. "Do you have everything you need for her or do we need to make a trip to the store?" I asked.

"Nope, I'm good. You know me, always prepared." She said pulling off Elizabeth's many layers.

I chuckled at that. She always had a duffle bag stuffed under her seat in case of emergencies as well as a tool kit in the bed of her truck.

"Can you pull out the padded blanket for me please; it's tummy time!" She exclaimed which made Elizabeth giggle.

"Tummy time?" I questioned.

"She likes to lie on her belly, but we'll need to watch her since she's mobile now." She kissed Elizabeth cheek then laid her down on the blanket I put down.

I sat down next to the blanket like Bella and watched her play peek-a-boo with our daughter who squealed and giggled when her mother's face was revealed.

"There are some toys in the bag too if you want to play, daddy." She said in a serious tone, but with a playful smile on her face.

"You know, I like hearing someone calling me daddy." I joked wagging my eyebrows suggestively.

"Edward." She scolded and blushed.

"Just kidding, love."

It's weird that just a couple of hours ago I was only interested in looking for my lost love, and now I have her and a daughter too.

Any normal guy would run for the hills; especially, a guy at my age. But one look at my baby girl and I just want to give her the world. Plus, looking at her, I not only see myself, but my mother too. If I did run I'm pretty fucking sure my mother would haunt me until I go crawling back to Bella begging for forgiveness.

"Well, isn't this cute." Dad chuckled coming down the stairs. "I put the old crib together in your room, Edward."

"Um, dad," I wasn't sure if Bella was ready to share a room with me.

"It's ok if you want me in another room, Edward. Elizabeth does have problems sleeping through the nights still." Bella said.

It made me feel guilty. She's had to lose countless hours of sleep because she's had to look after our daughter by herself.

"No, Bella, you can share my bedroom." I reassured her. "And I'll take care of Elizabeth when she wakes up in the middle of the night."

"Edward, you've only known her for an hour at most. Do you really think you're ready for that kind of responsibility?" She asked.

I gently reached for her face, cradling it between my large hands and looked dead-on into her eyes. "You don't know how much I wish I had known where you were and that you were pregnant with my child. I wish I could have been there with you helping you through everything. Morning sickness, swollen feet, Lamaze, the birth, the…"

"Ok, ok, I get it. Please don't take me down that road again." To anyone, it would look like she was joking, but her eyes expressed something different. Sadness.

I hope to all that is fucking holy that she didn't go through all of that alone.

I gave her a look that said we would be talking about this later. In response, she slightly nodded her head then turned her gaze to the floor.

It took me a second too late to remember our daughter was not only on the floor, but on the other side of the room now going after my dad's Italian loafers.

"Elizabeth, no." Bella cried out, but I was faster.

I picked up the little monster before her chubby little fingers could get a hold of the object of her desire.

"No, no, sweetie pie. Those aren't yours." I chastised, and I had no idea where that came from.

"You're a natural, son." Dad spoke up from his chair.

Bella was beaming with pride.

"So, what should we do for dinner? I could order something…"

"Oh no, you don't," Bella cut him off. "I've seen what's in your refrigerator and know that you've had enough of that junk. I'll cook something healthy for the two of you." She mumbled then got up to leave.

"Bella, you don't have…"

"Edward, you both are helping me; I need to give back." I was about to protest, but she gave me that look that told me to shut it, so I did.

"You wanted her to cook for you." I accused dad when Bella left the room.

He shrugged his shoulders and reached for his newspaper and glasses. "It's about dinner time, son, and I'm sure little Lizzie there is getting hungry."

I rolled my eyes and laid Elizabeth back onto the floor. She rolled onto her back and started chewing on a toy.

I couldn't help but watch her just fascinated that she was here. I couldn't tell if she was naturally small like her mother since I haven't been around babies at all to know how big they're supposed to be. Then again, I didn't know much about her period.

Looking around the room, I tried to find something to do with her. I felt like she was looking at me like she was saying "Well now what, fuck head?"

My eyes zeroed in on the back of the house where I could see the baby grand piano nestled in the corner of the large room.

If Elizabeth was anything like me or her grandmother, I knew she would love music.

"Come here, baby girl." I picked her put along with the toy she was chewing on not caring about the drool getting on my shirt.

Giving her a kiss on the forehead, I carried her over to the piano.

She looked at it inquisitively as I moved to sit on the bench. Sitting her on my lap with one arm around her for support I played a few scales single handedly. It's a bit awkward, but Elizabeth seemed to be enthralled with the music.

After a few minutes she dropped her chew toy and leaned to touch the keys. Normally, I would hate it when someone touched my favorite instrument except for Bella, but now I was happy to share my passion with my little one.

A click and a flash startled me from my little bubble, but not Elizabeth now she had both hands on the keys banging away. To me it was the sweetest melody.

I turn to look at dad who was still holding the camera in front of his face.

"Save me a picture, dad." I said with a smile.

He snapped again then laughed. "I'll print out a copy for you, son, but this is going on my desk."

I then noticed Bella leaning against the entryway to the kitchen. She almost had tears in her eyes, but a big ass smile on her face that matched mine. I waved her over.

She shook her head because she knew what I was planning.

My smile grew as I tried again with dad jerking his head for her to join us.

"You both know I hate getting my picture taken." She whined.

"Apparently our daughter has no problem with her picture being taken." I chuckled looking at said little girl who was beaming up at her grandfather.

"That's because she's your daughter." Bella retorted.

"Bella, you and I both know that you will join me over here, so save us the time and get over here or dinner will be ruined by the time this mess is done." I reasoned and watched her crumple.

"You owe me big, Masen." She grumbled stomping over to us.

"Put it on my tab." I replied handing her Elizabeth.

Our little one wasn't really happy that I pulled her away from her fun, but she stopped fussing when I started playing. I played a song that I hadn't touched or tried to think of for nearly two years now; Bella's lullaby.

I composed it for my beautiful girlfriend shortly after we bumped into each other, and I finished it the day I told her I loved her. I can also remember the last time I had played it for her; I recorded it onto a CD that I made for her 18th birthday. The CD and my heart were the last things I had given her that night.

When the song came to a close I looked at my little girl who was cuddled into her mother's arms almost asleep.

I looked up at Bella silently asking her why.

Bella readjusted so that Elizabeth was lying on her mother's shoulder. "I play her that CD you gave me, it helps her to sleep."

"You kept it?" I asked.

"Yeah, I burned it on my iPod so that I could listen to it without anyone noticing. It was the only music I listened to." She bit her lip. "I even put headphones on my stomach when I was pregnant with her. She always settled down when the music was playing."

I couldn't help but kiss this woman until my father cleared his throat. I forgot he was still in the room.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I smell the food."

"Holy crow, I forgot." Bella quickly slid off the bench handing my daughter to dad and ran into the kitchen nearly running into the wall on the way.

I had to chuckle at her.

"Still the same old Bella. Don't worry, little Lizzie, I'm sure you got your father's equilibrium." He spoke baby talk to my little girl who was looking a little angry.

"What's wrong, sweet thing?" I asked her taking her from dad.

"Bella probably doesn't want her to fall asleep or else she would be up all night." My dad explained.

"I have her on a tight schedule for feedings and naps," Bella spoke up from the door. "Dinner's ready by the way."

"Hot dog, did I mention how much I missed you, Bella?" Dad cheered running into the kitchen with his granddaughter that he stole from me.

Bella and I looked at each other and laughed at my dad's antics before following him in.

"There wasn't much to choose from, so I hope you guys don't mind spaghetti and meatballs." Bella told us humbly.

On the table was spaghetti with a dish of home-rolled meatballs, a large green salad with all the fixings, and green beans.

I sat next to her and kissed her cheek in thanks before making a plate for her and myself.

"Hmm…Bella, I must say, you've out did yourself tonight." Dad complimented after taking only one bite.

"This is all you guys had, but I'm glad you had the fresh vegetables or else I would have chewed you out." She said with a straight face.

"Oh yeah, every time I go pass the produce section I can hear you nagging at me to get pepper or lettuce." Dad retorted.

"And you're looking good too." She complemented.

"Thank you, I'm glad someone's noticed." He looked at me.

"Well you never said anything about me." I joked back.

"Oh, I forgot about her dinner. Give mama a minute, baby girl." Bella ran off to the living room and came back a minute later with a jar in her hands.

"What's the on the menu for my little grandbaby." Dad joked while nuzzling Elizabeth's face making her giggle uncontrollably.

I felt a pang of jealousy; I had yet to make my baby girl laugh since I met her. What a fucking excuse for a father I am.

"Edward," I looked up at Bella who was holding the jar and a spoon out to me. "Do you want to feed her?" She asked.

I could have swept her up in my arms and run upstairs to give her a proper thank you.

"Sure." My fantasy would have to wait; it would be a while before we would do that again.

Dad handed me Elizabeth who looked happy to see me. Bella put the jar and spoon down in front of me and placed a small bib around her neck. My poor little girl didn't like that too much. I would have taken it off, but knowing that if she didn't have it on it would ruin her clothes.

"It should be the right temperature for her, so dig in."

I didn't know what I was doing at first, but after the first couple of times missing, I finally was able to get the disgusting slop into Elizabeth's mouth. I learned it was disgusting because my daughter's arms sent a spoonful into my mouth.

I nearly choked and curse to high heaven for that until I saw Bella's face, she knew what I was going to do and gave me that look. I took a breath before finally feeding Elizabeth the right way.

"You are one hungry little girl, aren't 'cha?" I babbled to her which helped to put the food in her mouth.

"She eats just like her daddy." Bella spoke up.

I gave Bella a glare over Elizabeth's head.

"Alright, last bite, big girl." I cooed and my little girl took it like a champ. "That's my girl. Let's get you cleaned up."

I picked her up and carried her over to the sink grabbing a clean dishtowel to wipe her clean.

"There, now you're all pretty like mommy." I said out loud knowing the others could hear me.

"Good job, son, come back and finish your dinner or no dessert tonight." Dad joked.

"I'm sorry to say, Ed, but I didn't have time to make dessert." Bella blushed.

"What!?" Dad feigned outrage. "You mean you're making me all this rabbit food and no dessert. I'm ashamed by your treachery, missy."

Bella and I burst out laughing.

"Dad, quite your belly-aching, I saw some Oreo ice cream in the freezer." I choked out.

"You can have some after you clean your plate, mister." Bella added not so seriously.

"Fine," He grumbled half-heartedly before choking a hearty chuckle. "Sorry, Bella, thank you for cooking dinner, it's the best I've had in…" He pretended to think about it.

"I know, I know, but thanks anyways." She blushed again.

"Thanks, baby." I leaned in to kiss her cheek.

"Oh, Edward, watch out." She exclaimed.

As I was leaning over, Elizabeth was now in reach of my dinner which she took two fist-full of.

"No, no, sweetie. You're not old enough for that." Luckily, Bella pointed it out quickly enough and I was able to pry her hands free of the food before she got any bright ideas about her new toy.

"I'll take her, Edward; I know it's hard to eat with her in one hand." Bella offered.

"I'm fine, Bella." I hated to do it, but I wasn't ready to let go of my little angel yet.

She looked adoringly at me with a hint of jealousy. I can understand her feelings, but was glad that she could see things through my eyes as well.

Not long afterwards, dad finished and announced he would take care of the dishes. Of course, Bella fought him for that honor and ended up losing when I passed our daughter back to her. As much as it pained me to do it, Bella needed to relax, so dad and I cleaned up the kitchen until it shined.

When we walked back into the living room, Bella was sitting on the couch talking to our daughter who was half hidden under a blanket.

It took me a minute to realize that Bella was breastfeeding.

"Oh, uh, don't mind me. I need to head into my office to finish a few things before I turn in." Dad realized this too and quickly advert his eyes.

Good thing too. Even though, he was my dad, Bella's breasts were mine…and well, our daughter's too at the moment.

"Sorry, she just needed a little milk. I'm trying to wean her off of me, but she's so stubborn." Bella explained as I sat down next to her.

I draped one arm around her shoulders and pulled the blanket away from her chest a little out of curiosity.

My little girl was sucking greedily to her mother's plump breast. I didn't know which looked better, Bella's breast or the cuteness that was my daughter.

I wrapped my other arm over Bella's that supported our baby.

"She's so beautiful." I whispered not ready to break the happy atmosphere we created.

"Yes, she is." Bella confirmed. "From the moment she was born she was so gorgeous."

Her words brought back my thoughts and questions. I fucking wanted to know so badly, but now was not the time. Later, I promised myself, when she was ready.


	8. Chapter 8

A few minutes later, Elizabeth pulled away and yawned, her mouth forming a perfect O. She was too cute for words.

"Do you want to burp her?" Bella asked.

Of course I nodded my head immediately, but was at a loss of what to do when I held my angel in my arms.

I looked to Bella for help, who just fucking giggled at my awkwardness. I gave her glare in return.

"First you need this," She gave me the blanket she used to cover herself. "Have her sit on your lap sideways, just like that, and hold the blanket in front of her to catch the stuff that will come out." I did everything she told me to do, but couldn't think of what to do next.

Bella giggled again. "Now pat her back firmly yet gently at the same time."

I gave it a try, but I was nervous that I would hurt her.

"A little harder, Edward," Bella encouraged.

"Are you talking about her or you?" I asked sarcastically.

Bella blushed and glared at the same time.

I laughed and did as I was told, still worried though.

I must have done something right because Elizabeth let out a belch that made me proud, but also her dinner came out as well.

"I know, it's disgusting, but we can't have any bubbles in her tummy. She's growing out of it though."

"What, puking?"

"No," I earned a punch in the shoulder for that one. "She's burping on her own and soon she won't need me to do it."

"What now?" I asked.

"Now it's time for a bath. I have her bath soap and baby towel in here somewhere." Again, she was searching through her Mary Poppins bag. "Found it. Want to help?"

"Abso-fucking-lutley," I said then corrected myself. "Sure I could help, darling."

"You won't be able to sweet talk your way of this, Edward. The swear words were cute when we were in high school, but then need to stop when you're with your daughter." She scolded.

"Daddy's sorry, angel, he'll try to watch his mouth from now on." I said to my daughter who was looking a little dreary eyed.

"Thank you, but we need to hurry before she falls asleep in the bathtub." Bella tried to scoop her up, but I was faster.

"Oh no you don't, I'll carry her upstairs your hands are full, sweetheart." I smiled her favorite crooked smile which almost did the trick.

She huffed, but walked over to the stairs anyway.

"Third door to your left," I told her when she got to the top floor landing.

I was about to make it up the last step when Bella stopped me in my tracks. From this height, I got a good view of her boobs then, reluctantly I might add, I looked up at her face.

"I have to warn you; bath time can get a little crazy. She doesn't like to go in the water." I couldn't help it if my mind wandered to Bella in the water with me and no clothes on.

"Edward." She snagged me out of my day dream before it went too far. "Are you listening to me?"

"I am now." I tried to smile, but she noticed my discomfort.

She rolled her eyes, but repeated herself. "I said we need to move quick if we want to get this over with. I'll start up the water if you undress her and that includes her diaper. Wrap her in a towel so she doesn't get cold, and then hand her to me when I'm ready got that?"

"Yup, let's do this." I said enthusiastically which got Elizabeth to smile lazily. "Do you think it would be easier now that she's tired?" I asked.

Bella chuckled once. "Heck no, it only makes it more problematic. She's very grumpy when she's tired."

"Sounds like someone I know." We said at the same time then shook our heads disbelieving one another.

I gave Bella a head start, but when she started the water, Elizabeth knew what was coming. She started to fuss and wiggle in my arms, but I refuse to put her down even trying to tell her soothingly that it would be over with soon.

Fuck yeah, that worked…no.

Saying a quick prayer, I walked into the bathroom where Elizabeth's wails started up.

I undressed her as quickly and gently as I could, but it was difficult because of all the buttons her outfit had. Then there was another outfit underneath her first one. I couldn't move fast enough and Elizabeth's crying was getting worst.

I was onto the diaper when the water was turned off. I kept trying to talk to her, trying to reassure her that everything would be alright; but it didn't do any good.

As soon as the diaper was off, Bella took her from my grasp and told me to wrap up the diaper and throw it away. I did that then joined Bella in another battle.

Elizabeth looked like she was throwing a tantrum, splashing the water and screaming in anger. It was breaking my heart and looking at Bella, I could see that this was also having an effect on her, and yet she kept working.

It only took a few minutes because Bella was working so fast, but as soon as the last of the soap was rinsed off, I had her towel ready which Elizabeth cuddled into. Her screams finally stopped so that now she was just hiccupping as I gently dabbed her skin dry.

Looking at Bella's face, I could see the unshed tears in her eyes knowing that she wanted to be strong, but I could also see the wear and tear on her. I cannot imagine going through this each and every night alone. I pulled both of my girls close to me also resisting the urge to cry for both of them.

Not ten minutes later, Elizabeth was dressed and already asleep before we laid her down in the crib. I plugged Bella's iPod into my stereo system and set it to play my compositions to ensure our daughter a night of peace.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered into Bella's hair as I held her close after shutting my bedroom door.

"I'm just sorry she acted like that. The first time it happened, I thought I was doing something wrong and felt like a horrible parent."

"No, you aren't a bad parent. From what I've seen, you are a wonderful mother. I'm just sorry you had to go through that alone." I kissed her lips softly.

A single tear fell from her eye before she was able to recollect herself.

"There is so much to tell you." She said though her voice was breaking slightly.

"I know, but only if you want to." Fucking hell, I wanted to know so goddamn badly that I was mentally kicking myself for saying that, but it was the truth. I could never push Bella for my own selfish needs.

"You deserve to know the truth. You are her father."

I kissed her forehead this time. "I think my dad should be there too, we both have news of our own to share."

I interlaced our fingers together and led her downstairs.

Dad was now in the living room reading his paper. He gave us a small smile and nodded his head towards the couch. He knew it was time.

"I'm sorry for the noise." Bella started.

"It's nothing, dear." Dad waved off her apology. "Some children just don't like to take baths. I'm sure she'll grow out of it someday."

I sighed then began. "Dad, Bella is ready to talk and I think we should share what we've found."

Dad nodded his head towards Bella to begin. I gave her hand a light squeeze to reassure her; she squeezed back thanking me for the support.

"If you hadn't figured it out, Elizabeth was conceived on my 18th birthday. Edward snuck in through the window to give me my presents then I ordered him away before my dad could catch us.

"The next day, all my things were packed and I was put on the first flight for Phoenix. My mom was disappointed in me, but she hid it so well at first because she was also elated I was with her again. I tried to be civil, but my heart was so broken that I could barely function. Eventually, she left me alone with my thoughts, but I didn't leave the house unless she was with me. She watched me like a hawk and in silence which is worse than being left alone, I think.

"It was after Halloween that I realized I was late, but figured it was from the stress I was under. Another month went by and still nothing, so I took a pregnancy test that I swiped while my mom and I were grocery shopping.

"I was about to take the test that night, but I got sick which made me even more suspicious. The test just proved what I already knew." She took a shaky breath, but smiled too.

"At first I was so happy because it really felt like you were with me at that moment. Then I thought about my parents and how they would react, so I tried to keep it a secret for as long as possible. I started making plans of running away and finding you, but didn't make it past Thanksgiving.

"I had been getting so sick during the day, but I was homeschooled and—like I said—my mom was around all the time monitoring me. Probably just to make sure I didn't contact you, but how could I? They locked their laptop in Phil's office, and the main phone line was shut off leaving their cell phones their only means of communication. Those were hidden too. It was like living in a prison with no bars on the windows, but I still couldn't go anywhere without someone breathing down my neck.

"After nearly two weeks of watching me throw up, Renee took me to the doctor who ran a few tests on me. They determined that I was pregnant from my blood work and Renee flipped out. However, I was prepared for it.

"While the test was running, Renee had slipped into the waiting room to take a phone call from Phil. He was in a meeting with a representative from a league in Florida, and called to tell us that he was being signed on for their team. While she was gone, I told the doctor I already knew I was pregnant, but asked her to tell my mom that it was too late for an abortion knowing that would be the first thing out of her mouth besides a few other choice words. It was my way of rebelling against my parents at the time. "

I stopped breathing for a moment; Renee wanted to kill my daughter. She was innocent and healthy. Bella squeezed my hand reassuringly this time.

"The doctor agreed and told Renee when the results officially came back. I thought I was prepared, but you wouldn't believe how livid she was. It was the first time she actually yelled at me and called me a stupid whore."

Tears were slipping down her sweet face. I slipped my hand from hers to wrap around her shoulders giving her the comfort she deserved. Dad got up and sat on the other side of Bella holding onto her other hand.

"When Charlie found out I begged him not to kill you and agreed that if I wouldn't try to contact either of you he wouldn't tell a soul. The only thing I couldn't do was give up my baby no matter how much they threatened to disown me. I knew they couldn't do that no matter how angry they were at me. Looking back now, I wish they did."

"Bella, sweetie, you don't have to tell us the rest." Dad assured her, but she shook her head in defiance.

"No, I need to." She said stubbornly. "In Phoenix, I was homeschooled and when we moved to Florida I was homeschooled again with Renee continuing to watch over me. It only made her moodier because she couldn't be with Phil when he traveled. After a while, we didn't feel like mother and daughter anymore only hateful strangers.

"Phil was the only one who showed me any acts of kindness. He brought home some baby clothes when Renee wasn't looking saying that he always wanted a kid and that a grandbaby was just as good even at his age.

"He also helped me set up as second-hand crib he got from a thrift store. He didn't have to be so nice since it was starting to ruin his relationship with my mom, but he said that my pregnancy wasn't a mistake, and that I shouldn't have to do this alone."

She wiped more tears away before continuing.

"One weekend, Renee had to go out of town for a convention that Phil talked her into which would look good on her resume he said. Money was tight between them because she wasn't working and Phil's job wasn't earning that much since he was only a rookie on the team. Still, she went and Phil took me shopping which was such a relief."

Dad and I looked at her in disbelief.

"Don't look at me like that. My clothes were barely fitting at that time, so I had no choice, and it was just as awkward for him as it was for me. So we got some second-hand maternity clothes and baby stuff and hid them all in my room. The only thing that Renee did was drive me to the women's clinic. I thought it was because we were low on money and that our insurance wouldn't cover a regular doctor's rate, but it wasn't until much later that it proved to be a lie. Renee didn't want word to get out thinking my pregnancy would somehow get back to you.

"When my due date came around, I had just finished school, but didn't walk on stage at my graduation ceremony because I was so big and had to be put on bed rest for a couple of weeks. Well, that's one excuse, but Renee was the other fucking factor."

The bed rest did not sound good, I thought.

"It was just as a precaution mostly for my stress levels which made my blood pressure kind of high. Near the end of June I went into labor. Renee dropped me off at the hospital, gave me the insurance card, and just drove off. I didn't have time to dwell or get angry at her before another contraction hit. In fact, I didn't even get angry at her until I came home about a week later. Phil brought me home after I had called asking for someone to pick me up. Before you two, he was the only one to hold my baby besides me.

"After I came home, it turned into a nightmare literally after I stepped through the front door. Renee demanded to know why Elizabeth was with me and not with a respectable family. I don't know where my confidence came from then, but I couldn't take it anymore. She and I got into our first major argument. It didn't matter if I was exhausted with a newborn baby or still hormonal, I threw everything I had at her until she finally screeched and ran out of the house. She didn't come home until well after midnight, I knew this because I was up late feeding Elizabeth when she pulled her car up."

This time, I couldn't help but kiss the side of her head. I was too fucking proud that she stood up to her mother like that.

"Renee must have talked to Charlie after that because he came down when Elizabeth was about two and half weeks old to try to talk me into giving her up. At first he sounded like he cared for us saying how it would be difficult to care for a baby at my age. When that didn't work his patience started waning after I left the room to tend to Elizabeth and he continued on yelling through the door for me to come out." She chuckled at the memory. "I locked my door and refused to even talk to him no matter what he said. There was a mini fridge in my room already filled with food and drinks and since Elizabeth was breastfeeding at the time, I didn't have to worry about her not even for diapers thanks to Phil. Nothing existed outside my room except us. My dad tried to break down the door, but I had moved some of my furniture around to block it. Eventually, he stopped and left after he and Renee got into another argument. I didn't know what it was about, but I didn't care."

"Nice one, Bella." Dad complimented.

"Thanks, after looking into Elizabeth's face for the first time, I was already planning my escape. I only had a little money from the change I had found lying around the house. Phil would also give me some…hiding it in my shoes when Renee wasn't looking.

"I had barely over two hundred when I decided I needed to leave. I overheard Renee talking to some adoption agencies on my behalf and found some brochures she "accidentally" left on the kitchen table. I had to leave ASAP or else I was going to lose my baby girl with or without my permission.

"Renee had started to apply for teaching jobs during the summer since money was becoming an issue and Phil broke his leg during practice which ended his baseball career. She thought that because I had a newborn I wouldn't try anything. How little she really knew me." Bella rolled her eyes.

"Renee was out at a job orientation last fall when Phil called me into his room. He had withdrawn some money from his own personal account and gave it to me, six hundred dollars for us to get away. He also gave me a prepaid phone in case of emergencies, but urged me to get rid of it wherever I ended up. I haven't, though, but I keep it turned off unless for emergencies.

"I had decided to wait until Thanksgiving when the crowds at the airports would be at their worst, and figured it would be better for Elizabeth since she was five months old by then.

"Renee went out grocery shopping and Phil called a cab for me since they had one car and he was still injured. He took his pain medicine which made him drowsy so that it looked like I just sneaked out during his medication cycle. Renee kept forgetting about it, so that was our only window of opportunity which I took without hesitation."

I was fucking beaming with pride, although my dad and I already knew some of this, this was still fucking brilliant.

"At the airport in Jacksonville, I called Jacob and asked him pick me up from the airport in Olympia thinking that when my parents realized I was missing they would think I flew to Seattle instead to hide in the big city. I was right.

"Quil and Embry were there on the lookout, and they watched Charlie and his deputy flashing their badges around looking for me. By the time those two realized I wasn't on any of the flights they headed to Olympia next, luckily, Jacob had already picked us up and we were on our way to the reservation. Even with Charlie's sirens and flashing lights, enabling him to speed down the highway, we just missed him. I was holding my breath when we saw him pull into the temporary parking lot and didn't relax until he went inside and we were on the highway.

"Jacob had borrowed someone's car since his Rabbit didn't have a big enough backseat for Elizabeth's carseat which I think saved our asses. We made it to the rez without Charlie or anyone else recognizing me. I was welcomed with open arms, and Emily, Sam's fiancée, let me stay at her house since it was one of the biggest on the reservation.

"It was the first time that I really did smile and laugh among friends, Phil helped as much as he could, but there was always Renee around like a black cloud. On the reservation, I had so many supporters and a few babysitters as well." She chuckled. "As you could probably guess, Elizabeth was a big hit there.

"I still felt bad, though, that Charlie was no longer welcomed on the reservation because of me, but realized that he deserved it and that you guys are well respected on the rez even if you and Jake had some bad blood." She giggled nudging me with her shoulder.

It was true, Jake and I always battled over Bella's heart and had gotten into fights over her. When she left, our feud ended because our common enemies were now Charlie and Renee.

"When you left, Jacob and I settled our differences especially when he heard about Charlie. He helped me on your birthday; he and his friends started a fire on the cliffs which freaked out everyone in Forks so Charlie was called in to investigate."

"They did what?" She whisper-yelled.

"Jacob realized he needed to back down because you obviously had chosen me, but still stuck his neck out because he was your best friend. He has a girl now that he met at the impromptu riot and is head-over-heels with her too." I chuckled.

Bella grabbed my shirt to pull me down to her level. "You will tell me more about that later." She growled.

I smirked, she was just too cute.

"Please continue, Bella." Dad urged very interested in her story.

"Well, I learned from the people on the rez that you guys had already left and were living in Seattle. Jacob tried to get me contact to you, but I thought it would be too dangerous since Billy told me that Charlie contacted him looking for me…claiming I was a runaway even though I left a note for them to find saying don't come find me or Elizabeth."

"Your father has been trying to push that piece of evidence aside as much as he can to gain sympathy from other officers here in Washington; he's been milking it from those who are listening." Dad interrupted.

"Charlie's made a lot of friends with other police forces here over the years. Because of me they are practically at his command." Bella continued. "Anyways, I had stayed with Emily until Christmas when I decided I needed to move again this time into the big city. I knew I would find you two sooner or later and at the same time put in an application to U-Dub.

"It was a risk considering that Charlie is trying to watch my every move, so I've been hiding at a woman's shelter since coming here, but I can't stay there for much longer." She mumbled obviously embarrassed.

"Sweet girl, there is no need to act so coy. We would be happy for you to come live with us. Don't give me that lip." Dad interrupted her objection. "You are family now, Bella, and Elizabeth needs her family, don't you agree?"

"Low blow, Ed," Bella retorted. "Alright, I'll stay only because I'm running out of options and haven't found a place to live yet. My job at the diner…"

"You should quit." I argued. I got the most evil look from her. "Let me explain before you kill me and lecture me on being an independent woman." I had heard it all too many times.

"Charlie has ties in this city and your job is fairly public, you're lucky the police haven't picked you up yet."

"Edward is right, Bells. Your mother and father are getting restless and with you being out in the open, like today, is a recipe for disaster."

She leaned into my shoulder burying her face in my body. "I'm just getting so tired of looking over my shoulder, but neither one of them will listen to me. They don't get that I'm adult and they are making my life a living hell. What kind of life is that for Elizabeth?"

"Do you want them in your daughter's life, Bella?" Dad asked her seriously.

"Fuck no." She growled.

I chuckled at her and dad's mustache was twitching, trying to hide his amusement.

"They haven't taken care of me; they've only been pushing me into a life they wanted, but I didn't. Then they didn't support me when I was in pain and alone, so alone." I wrapped my arms around her tighter wanting her to feel the security she had been missing for such a long time.

"Alright, it's getting late. I suggest we go to bed and talk more tomorrow." With that, dad got up, kissed Bella's cheek and patted my shoulder before going up the stairs.

I sank further back into the couch with Bella safe in my arms. I never wanted to let go of her again.

"You still smell the same." I thought I heard her mumble.

"What?" I asked chuckling slightly at her comment.

She looked up at me, her doe eyes shining with unshed tears in the minimal lighting.

"I just missed the way you smelled. The shirt I stole from you lost its scent after a while, but I still love to sleep in it." She blushed.

I smiled her favorite smile and buried my face in her hair. It still smelled like strawberries and freesia.

"You still smell so good too."

We stayed locked like this for what seemed like hours, but it was only minutes before Bella slowly removed herself from my embrace.

I pouted at her not ready to leave our bubble of bliss.

She giggled at me.

"We need to go to bed." She said. "Elizabeth is always up early and she doesn't care if we're awake or not."

"Damn, I fucking sorry for that."

She glared at me.

"Oops," I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, again, I'll try to remember from now on."

"No," She said firmly. "You _will_ remember from now on."

Fucking hell, I forgot how hot she was when she got demanding. I nearly pushed her back on the couch to kiss her senseless.

"Don't even think about it." Yeah, she still knew me all too fucking well. "Come on, it's been a long day."

"Yeah," I agreed grabbing her hand before standing up. "It's not every day I learn that I'm a father."

I froze at that thought, every single fucking time it gets me that I now have a daughter; but goddamn it, I'm grateful that Bella is my daughter's mother.

Pulling her in for one more hug, I buried my face in her neck giving her light kisses to show my appreciation.

"Thank you for keeping her safe." I mumbled in between kisses.

"I couldn't let them take her away; she is a part of you too." She grabbed my hair and leaned her head back offering it to me. "It would have killed me even more." She moaned.

I really needed to stop because my pants were becoming a little too uncomfortable with each passing second.

With one last kiss planted on that little spot behind her ear, I was rewarded with another quiet moan and pulled back. Her face was slightly flush and she looked slightly dazed.

"Love, we need to go to bed." I whispered in her ear smiling that I could still make her feel this way.

She shook her head slightly to clear it, but then nodded.

We walked upstairs together hand-in-hand.

After completing our nightly routines in silence, but together as if our old routine had never stopped, I gave Bella an old shirt of mine knowing that she hated to sleep in jeans. I was disappointed when she closed my bathroom door to change her clothes, but I amused myself by watching my tiny angel sleep.

I didn't hear the bathroom door, or my girl's petite feet softly padding their way to me, but I did feel when her arms wrapped around me from behind. I turned towards her and wrapped my arms around her body as well.

"I love moments like this," She whispered, "When everything is so calm and serine, not a care in the world."

"I can see how you can." I whispered back. "Now you know how I felt all those times you fell asleep on me and I watched you dream." I chuckled quietly.

She slapped me on the arm, but still smiled even if it was smug.

"I never liked it when you watched me sleep. It was so creepy."

"But I never listened." I leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Besides, I love it when you're fucking feisty."

I got another slap for that.

"I'm going to start punishing you if you can't stop."

"Oh please do, Mistress."

She pulled me down by the back of my neck to her level and playfully glared at me.

"Don't tempt me, boy."

"Only when we're alone," I kissed her chastely on the lips. "But only when you're ready."

"You are too good for me." She rested her head against my chest.

"Don't start that again. After all this time, you still don't believe how well we fit together?" She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Well, lucky for you I promised that I would spend the rest of my life trying to get you to believe me."

I held my breath because I always thought it was the other way around…that she was too good for me. Then looking down at Elizabeth, the doubt was bubbling its way up. Would I be a good father?

The question do I want to be a father was a no-fucking-brainer, Bella was Elizabeth's mother, any other woman would send me running for the hills; but with Bella, Hell no, I was staying put.

"We should go to bed." I repeated her words from earlier. "Our daughter will be getting us up early."

That earned me a big old fucking smile from my girl. My love.

Going to the bed, I held up one side of the comforter and motioned for Bella to get in ahead of me. This was our old thing; she always said that it made her feel safe.

"Are you still afraid of the monsters hiding under the bed, huh?" I joked.

This time, I got a punch in the gut but also a smile too.

"Get in here, smartass."

"Bella, I thought we were going to watch our language around Elizabeth." I scolded playfully. "Do you really want her first word to be fuck?"

"I didn't drop the f-bomb that would be you, Masen." She quipped.

I rolled my eyes as I crawled in behind her.

She cuddled under the covers and scooted her way over to me. I opened my arms in invitation which she gladly accepted without hesitation.

It felt so right to have her back in my arms. Finally, my missing piece has been found and added to my puzzle. I felt whole again, but for how long?

"Don't over think this, Masen," I looked down and noticed she had a reassuring smile on her face.

"Look who's talking." I pressed my finger lightly between her furrowed eyebrows. "Goodnight, Bella." I chuckled.

"Goodnight, Edward. I love you." She yawned.

"I love you too, always and forever."


	9. Chapter 9

It just felt like I had just closed my eyes, but the clock read 4:00am when Elizabeth's soft cries woke me up.

Confused for only a moment before I remembered that Bella was in my arms and we had a daughter together who, at the moment, was demanding attention.

Not knowing what to do, I tried to sneak out of Bella's arms to see if I could get Elizabeth to calm down.

"Hey, baby girl. What's the matter?" I asked her picking her up and cradling her to my chest.

She cuddled into me, but didn't settle down enough to sleep. I tried switching positions so that her head was against my shoulder which only made her crying pick up again.

I was starting to freak out a bit until I felt Bella stirring next to me.

"She's hungry." She announced half asleep.

"Sorry, little one," I chuckled down at her. "But that's something daddy can't give you." I joked handing her to Bella who had moved so she was leaning against the headboard.

I repositioned myself to sit like I had earlier or yesterday as Bella lifted up her shirt exposing her extra plump breast.

Damn, it was bigger since I had seen it after Elizabeth's last feeding.

"Close your mouth, Edward. This milk is for Elizabeth not you." Bella said giving me a mocking glare.

"I just…I..." I stammered not really coherent.

"It's ok, Edward, I was waking up before she started fussing. My breasts and her are on a similar time schedule."

"How long can you feed her like this?" I asked.

Bella switched Elizabeth around to her other breast before answering. "The doctor said I can provide for as long as she needs it. She's nine months now and I'm trying to wean her off before her first birthday. Although, without a job I'm not so sure; formula is pretty pricy you know."

I made a mental note about the job thing for later; the middle of the night is definitely not the time for that conversation. Instead, I asked a simple question.

"When is her birthday?" I whispered.

Bella smiled down at our daughter who was starting to doze off a little. Her stomach must have been full because Bella pulled Elizabeth away from her breast to burp her. I caught her before she did and burped my little girl myself.

Bella smiled wider before answering. "June 20th."

I froze in mid pat, but Elizabeth still burped without my help.

"My birthday?" I asked.

Bella picked up Elizabeth from me and laid her down in between our bodies rubbing her stomach softly.

"She was about a week late and weighed eight pounds three ounces at twenty in a half inches long. The nurse said it was the perfect size for a healthy newborn."

"Well, she is perfect." I lay down beside my girls and gently mirrored Bella's hand, our fingers brushing against one another's.

Bella nodded her head in agreement with a small smile tugging at her lips.

I watched her eyes hoping against hope that she wouldn't disappear in the night until her eyes closed with sleep. It was only when I heard her breathing even out, and saw that Elizabeth was tucked away in dreamland that I allowed myself to be taken under as well.

I knew I was dreaming. I was dreaming of Bella—always of Bella—she and I were laying in our meadow back in Forks. We looked younger and happier with not a fucking care in the world.

That place was our haven where no bad thought or person was allowed…our protective bubble.

The sun was out sending down rays that made the red in Bella's hair more visible to the naked eye. Her eyes were closed, but I knew she wasn't asleep. She loved to lie out in the sun to feel the warmth not caring if she tanned.

I was about to reach out to touch her face, to feel her soft, milky skin when something touched my face. I looked in the direction to see what it was and instead heard a giggle. It sounded so familiar, but it wasn't Bella's.

I looked back at Bella and her eyes were open with amusement dancing in them.

"Don't wake up daddy." She said.

I cocked my head in confusion and felt the hand on my face again. Again it wasn't Bella because her hands were lying on the warm grass beside her.

"Don't wake up daddy." She repeated, but it sounded tired like she had just woken up.

Only, in my dream, she hadn't been asleep.

Another tap on my face and my eyes shot open to see a tired looking Bella holding onto Elizabeth's hands which were flailing around in my direction.

I smiled up at her and was rewarded by her mischievous smile I loved.

"Well, good morning to you too." I picked her up and held her above my head.

Her smile grew and she erupted into giggles.

Bringing her back down to me, I kissed her head and laid her on my chest. Like earlier, she snuggled into me.

Note to self, Elizabeth likes to snuggle into the chest not the shoulder.

Turning my attention back to Bella, her eyes were closed again, but I knew she wasn't fully asleep. Unlike me—and apparently Elizabeth—Bella is not an early riser whereas I can sleep for only a few hours at night and still be bright-eyed for a full day.

"Shhh," I stage whispered. "Mommy's still sleepy, let's go down stairs and fix breakfast." Again, Elizabeth giggled at me.

"I need to feed her." Bella said without opening her eyes. "My boobs will leak if she doesn't suck on them soon."

I had to hold in my laugh because Bella never did have a verbal filter in the early mornings.

"I could help you know." I joked.

Lazily, she tried to slap my shoulder which only felt like a soft tap making my laughter break loose.

"Shut up and give her to me." She mumbled then proceeded to sit against the headboard.

I sat up too and handed Elizabeth over to her mother who just ripped her shirt right off.

I gulped at the sight of a nearly naked Bella and my morning wood just went to full mast in the blink of an eye.

"Don't look at me like that, Edward." Bella scolded giving me an evil glare.

"Sorry." I said seriously. "I'm gonna go take a shower while you two finish up."

Her face softened a bit while I got up and walked into the bathroom.

I leaned against the sink for a minute trying to compose myself.

Yeah, fuck that shit.

Bella's body always turned me on and she didn't even have to try anything for me to end up with a hard-on. The only thing that could help at the moment was a cold shower. And holy fucking shit, it did.

I only turned the cold tap after I stepped in and had to bite my lip to keep from yelping at the sudden temperature change. Still, it got the job done.

Knowing that it would be a bad idea if I turned the hot water on, I quickly washed up in the freezing only turning on the hot knob a little to rinse off so I didn't get sick. I couldn't let my baby girl catch anything from me or anyone else. Overprotective has always been in my nature especially when it came to Bella, and now I had to think of my daughter's health.

Oh fucking hell, I'm going to have a busy job for the rest of my life. Fuck no, if you think I'm complaining though.

After getting out and wrapping a towel around my waist there was a knock at the door.

I opened it to reveal a blushing Bella.

"What? It's not like you haven't seen it all before." I gestured towards my body with her favorite lopsided grin.

The blushed stayed, but she giggled all the same.

"Your dad came up to get Elizabeth; he's taking her downstairs to start breakfast." She explained turning to the sink.

"Hmm…" I thought out loud. "So we have some alone time?"

She paused lifting up her toothbrush dabbed in the paste and looked up at me in shock.

"Joking, love." I said chuckling at her.

"Yeah, well," She cleared her throat when she composed herself. "Sorry, there won't be any of that for a while."

As a guy, that made my ego and dick deflate.

I reached for my shaving supplies in an attempt to brush off what she said.

We were quiet for a few minutes until she after she spit and rinsed. Then she turned to me and explained.

"Edward, I'm sorry. I know you're expecting something…"

"I'm not expecting anything, Bella." I put down my razor and pulled her into an embrace. "I was only joking. Yes, I'm a man and we have had sex in the past which was fucking fantastic by the way." I grinned at her. She returned it shyly.

"But with Elizabeth that reminds me that we have to commit to her now and less about our needs. Plus, we just found each other again. Sex will not make up for the hurt and pain we've been through. I still love you though, with all my fucking heart."

"Thank you." She squeezed me tighter. "But we will have sex again, I promise you."

"Only when you're ready, love. I can see how everything has taken its toll on you."

Really looking at her in the light has made me see that she was skinner than she was in high school. Just a few features had changed, but that was due to being pregnant.

"Yeah, and you know me and stress." She said, and I did remember.

When we were in high school, I sometimes had to force feed her especially when things got rough at home.

"When was the last time you went to the doctor?" I asked.

"Which one?" She replied.

"Huh?" I was confused.

"A regular doctor I haven't seen since I found out I was pregnant. A gynecologist, I saw one regularly until I gave birth and then had a few checkups after Elizabeth just to make sure there weren't any complications. After that none, but Elizabeth has been well looked after. In fact, she has an appointment on Monday." She explained and I felt her shiver.

Bella never liked going to the doctor and the hospital was even worst for her. I couldn't imagine her mother dropping her off when she went into labor and was there all by herself.

"Do you want me to come with you two?" I asked.

"You want to?" She asked in disbelief.

I rolled my eyes at her attitude. "Bella, do you really need to doubt me?" I asked her seriously. "You've been carrying too much for too damn long. Elizabeth is my daughter as well as yours; I'm not running away from you two, ever."

She hesitated, but it was her way of processing everything. Still, I held my breath until she finally smiled with acceptance.

"Thank you." Her tears started glistening with unshed tears. "I wasn't exactly sure how you would react to all of this. I mean you went from a single, college guy to a father in a matter of hours."

"And I don't regret it. My only regret is when you were taken from me and I didn't know you were pregnant with my child, our child." I reassured her with a kiss, but she leaned away from me.

I gave her a questioning look, but she giggled and pointed to my face. I forgot that I still had half of my face was covered in shaving cream.

"Sorry." I chuckled then turned around to pick up my razor.

Bella beat me to it though then jumped up on the counter and beaconed for me to come closer to her. I moved so that I was in between her legs and allowed her to get to work.

It didn't take long before she was done and did a fucking nice job too. I kissed her lips in thanks then washed off my face while she went back into the bedroom.

"I'm gonna join your dad and Elizabeth while you finish up." She said before leaving.

"Wait." I suddenly remembered something that made me fucking blush.

Bella walked back into the bathroom with her hands of her hips. She was intrigued because she knew that I didn't blush unless it was something I was guilty of. Very few things embarrassed me to the point that I blushed.

"What did you do?" She tried to keep a straight face, but as always, her eyes betrayed her.

Opening the drawer in front of her, I picked up the hairbrush that Bella left at my old home in Forks. I didn't realize it was there until I was packing up my bathroom shit last year.

"You might need this." I told her sheepishly.

She was shocked, and I couldn't blame her, but recovered quickly with a bright smile.

"Thank you." She hugged me then stole the brush from my hand.

"Hey." I protested. She cocked an eyebrow. "I didn't steal it if that's what you're wondering. You left it at my house." I explained.

She was about to turn around and go back into the bedroom when I pulled her back to me and reclaimed the brush.

"I think I need to return the favor, beautiful." I whispered in her ear causing her body to shiver in what I knew was delight.

Brushing Bella's hair was a favorite pastime of mine, but I would never admit that to anyone and let them live. I could even braid it which is what I did. Bella looked shocked that I still remembered…it was like riding a fucking bike; I'd never forget.

After I pulled on some clean clothes, Bella and I walked down stairs hand-in-hand. We followed the smells coming from the kitchen.

Dad was at the stove flipping some pancakes and whistling _pop goes the weasel_ most likely for Elizabeth who was sitting in an old high chair. Suddenly, I was thankful that my dad was a packrat.

Bella let go of my hand to run over to our daughter who was happily playing with her cheerios.

"Well, good morning, sweetie." Bella gushed over our smiling baby girl.

I walked over next to Bella and kissed my little girl on the head. She squealed in delight.

"Hey, you, are you teaching grandpa how to cook?" I cooed at her.

"You know, I kind of like being called grandpa. I think I'll keep it." Dad joked horribly while flipping the last hot cake on the plate. "How did everyone sleep?" He asked.

"Really good thanks." Bella said politely. "Did Elizabeth wake you up last night?"

"No, my dear, in fact, my wife often complained that I didn't do my part by helping out for those middle of the night feedings. I can't help it if I'm a heavy sleeper." He countered.

Back in Forks, I was grateful that my dad was a heavy sleeper or else I wouldn't have been able to sneak out in the middle of the night to go see Bella without getting caught.

"So, what are everyone's plans for the day?" My dad asked filling up his plate.

Bella shrugged her shoulders and busied herself by cutting up some pancake for Elizabeth to try. Although, I could see that she wanted to ask something, but being her stubborn self, she wouldn't say it.

Thankfully, dad saw it too.

"Well, I need to go grocery shopping, we'll need to move Bella's and Elizabeth's things in, and…"

"Oh no, Ed," Bella interrupted, but I interrupted her.

"Bella, you already said last night that you were being forced out of the women's shelter. Where else could you go?" I asked.

She looked down at her plate in defeat.

"Bella sweetie," Dad waited until she looked up at him to finish. "There is plenty of space for you all, and I don't want to lose my granddaughter."

"If you're sure, I could always…"

"No, Isabella, we're family and we will be honored to help you. You and Elizabeth are not obligations. Do you understand me?" Dad asked firmly.

"Yes," She replied nodding her head. "Thank you." She smiled shyly.

"You're welcome. Now, tell me where you've been staying these past few weeks. Your trail has gone cold since you came to Seattle." He said absentmindedly.

"What?" Bella asked confused.

I dragged my hand through my face and hair. Dad and I didn't mention that we were tracking her for months.

"Oops." He mumbled.

I rolled my eyes, but answered for him. "Don't be freaked out, Bella, but we've been trying to track you and your family since you left Washington."

She pondered this for a minute before she asked.

"If you've been tracking me, how is it that you didn't find out about Elizabeth then?"

"We noticed that you were going into clinic for a few months and then later to the hospital, but we didn't put the puzzle together. That was a rookie mistake that I should have seen. I went to each and every doctor's appointment with your mother, Edward. You'd think I would have figured it out sooner." Dad ranted clearly annoyed with himself.

"It's alright, Ed, but couldn't you get into my medical records since you're a lawyer?" Bella tried to comfort him.

"Sweetheart, you should know that I couldn't for two reasons; one, I would have needed a warrant or your permission to access those records. Two, your father has been watching some key areas including your medical and bank records trying to pinpoint where you are." He explained.

"Would that include my application to the university?" She asked. Like me, Bella also had an interest in the law. We had always planned on going to school together, work at my dad's then run it when he retired.

"That I'm not sure of, but we can't be too careful." Dad thought. "Have you put in your application yet, dear?"

"I did, I'm trying to get in for the summer at the earliest. I need to play catch up since I'm a year behind, but the best I can do right now is part time because of Elizabeth."

"Bella, with all of us helping it wouldn't take much for you to catch up. I'm even ahead of the game because I tested out of some of the required classes thanks to those AP courses from high school. You were in the same classes; those could work in your favor." I pointed out.

"Another thing to consider is that your school does offer daycare services if you need it. That does cost money though." Bella started mentally calculating that which made dad backtrack. "However, my office does offer daycare services for the employees. I can drop Elizabeth off there and pick her up when I get off for the day."

"Ed, really, I appreciate the thought, but you just found out about Elizabeth, how could you get her in the daycare?" Bella cut him off.

"I'll have to prove that I am her grandfather." He said proudly. "And there are special circumstances such as if the parents of the child are in school or if a close relative works in the office."

"And how would you know all of this, dad?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"Remember when I told you I had some work to do last night?" He smiled smugly. "Do you have Elizabeth's birth certificate with you?"

"Um, back at the shelter I do." She replied suspiciously then got the idea. "Oh yeah, she would be safe since I had them put down Masen as her surname to throw my parents off the track. They also don't know her middle name either."

"Yes, that is vital to have, but it would be even better if the two of you were married." Ok, dad went too far.

When Bella and I were together in Forks, the topic of marriage only came up once during our relationship and it freaked the shit right out of her. Looking over at Bella now, she looked like she saw a fucking ghost.

"Dad, there is no need to go that far." I seethed while wrapping my arms protectively around Bella.

"Alright, alright," He relented. "But as you know a successful lawyer has to look at all the options when making a strong case."

"Yes, Ed, but we're not ready for marriage. Although we have a baby already…I just can't…we…it's…"

"Ok, ok, I get it. I'll talk to human resources and figure out what we can do. Just for today let's get you two moved in. Wow, this is starting to sound backwards."

I had to laugh with him because he was right. First a baby then moving in together then—it will happen someday—marriage.

"This is going by so fast." Bella had the same idea I did. "I'm grateful for everything you've done, but it's…this is all going so fast."

"As long as it makes you happy, baby," I stroked her back.

She looked at me with her killer smile on her face. "More than you know." Then kissed me on the cheek, "But, I do want to come down and see this center." She told dad firmly.

"Understandable, just know that these people have had background checks when they were first hired for the firm. They're all certified teachers for children. I should know since I was on the board to interview each staff member."

"Wow, you've been busy since coming to Seattle." Bella commented.

Dad chuckled. "Well, my son is in college and I'm a terminal bachelor, so I have quite a bit of time on my hands." He shrugged.

I rolled my eyes knowing that he was only giving her the abridge version of his life. Watching Bella, she knew he was holding more back, but left it alone.

"Son, would you like to come in on Monday to see the center or are you busy with classes all day?" Dad asked me.

Fucking hell, I forgot about that. Thankfully, I then remembered I would only have two morning classes instead of the third later that day.

"I can come, but can we make it after noon, my later class is cancelled since my professor is attending a conference this weekend in Washington D.C." I answered.

Bella nodded her head before turning to dad for his opinion. Dad thought for a few seconds then spoke.

"Sounds alright, but we can't meet for long, I have a board meeting for the children's hospital at three o'clock."

"Which reminds me, I have to take Elizabeth in for her appointment at twelve thirty," Bella pointed out. "You still want to go?" She asked me.

I raised my eye brow silently asking her if she was fucking serious.

"Just checking," She sighed then reached for Elizabeth.

"Where are you taking my daughter?" I glared playfully.

"She needs to get cleaned up for the day." She answered with a playful smirk.

"I'll help." I kissed her nose then got up with Elizabeth on my hip despite Bella's protest.


	10. Chapter 10

**Please forgive the tardiness for the upcoming chapters. I know I am three behind and will work to edit the others and get them up in the next few days. Real-life has been making me budgeting my time between working, eating, and sleeping with little room to do much else these past couple of months. Thanks for understanding!**

Since dad was already ready for the day, he took care of the kitchen while Bella and I juggled getting ourselves ready and Elizabeth, who was really squirmy when it came to getting dressed.

At first I thought it was cute, but after a while, it just became irritating before Bella took the clothes from my hands, a second later she handed me a dirty diaper before putting on a new one and the clothes within three minutes.

I watched her in awe and a little remorseful that Bella did the work for me.

She just turned to me with a smile and a kiss.

"Practice," She whispered against my lips then left the room with Elizabeth on her hip leaving me gaping like a fish out of water.

Ten minutes later, we left the house and piled into dad's car with him driving while Bella and I opted to sit in the back with Elizabeth.

"Bella, what shelter have you two been staying at?" Dad asked after we had been driving for 15 minutes.

"Jubilee Women's Center," She answered.

"The one on 18th Ave," He asked.

"Yeah, do you know it?" She asked back.

"I should say so. My office sponsors the organization as well as represents them. Personally, I don't, but my partner does. The last I heard they had a fundraiser to expand the shelter." He explained.

"Lot a good that did." I mumbled.

"Edward," Damn, Bella heard me. "Space had been filling up already even with the expansion plus there is a limited amount of time that women can stay depending on their situation. I was just a runaway who had a baby and needed to get back on my feet. In reality, my situation was not as dire as the other women's are."

"Listen to her, son; the people at Jubilee have helped so many in the past despite the hardship of the economy."

"Sorry," I reached over to peck Bella's cheek.

She smiled back letting me know that all was forgiven.

We continued on till we were in the heart of downtown Seattle. From the outside I would have thought the shelter to be another office like every other building surrounding us. Talk about hiding in plain sight.

Dad got out first while Bella began messing with Elizabeth's straps. Gently pushing her fingers away, I did it myself and carried my little girl out of the car completely ignoring Bella's annoyance. I met dad on the sidewalk he had the stroller.

As much as I hated to put down my little girl, dad deserved some time with his granddaughter.

Bella met us on the sidewalk with the diaper bag. She got smart when I tried to grab it, hiding it behind her body then stuck her tongue out at me. I playfully glared at her letting her have her fun even though I could easily wrestle the bag away from her. So I settled holding her close to my side as we walked into the building.

The lobby was fairly grand still giving off that vibe of a business office rather than a shelter.

I followed Bella up to the counter where an older, exotic woman was stationed.

"Oh, Bella, dear," She gushed in a thick Spanish accent. "I was wondering where you had gone off to. We were getting worried."

"I'm sorry, Carmen, but I got in contact with some…relatives who have agreed to take Elizabeth and I in." I internally rolled my eyes at Bella's humbleness.

"Oh, well, that is wonderful news. And who might you be?" The woman glared at both dad and me.

"Edward Masen Sr.," Dad stepped up holding out his hand for the woman to shake.

"Masen," The woman mused while shaking dad's hand. "Of course, Edward Masen from Masen and Jenks law firm. I should have recognized you, so sorry about that, but old habits die hard you know."

"Don't I know it?" He chuckled.

"And I'm Edward Masen Jr. Thank you for taking care of my family." I reached out to shake the woman's hand.

I could tell that she was genuine about Bella and Elizabeth's well-being which made me respect the woman even more.

"Family," She mused once more. "Oh, now I see it. Those eyes I would know anywhere, you and your daughter share a very unique feature."

"Thank you." I said sincerely.

"Well, I wish you both the best and here," She dug underneath her desk for a moment before reappearing. "I know how difficult it can be to be parents at such a young age, so here are some brochures for support groups just in case." She smiled.

"Thanks, Carmen. We really appreciate them." Bella answered for us as I took the papers.

"Think nothing of it, mi amiga. Am I to assume that you will be moving out today?" She asked.

"Unfortunately, yes…"

"Unfortunately? This is a very fortunate thing to happen, chica. You are smiling more than I've ever seen, and it suits you." Carmen interrupted.

"It goes well with the blush too." I added in.

I got another smack on the arm for that, but Bella was smiling and blushing all the same.

"We need to go, but I'll be back down to say goodbye when we're finished. I promise." Bella said.

"Not a problem, just come on down and we'll say our last goodbyes, chica." Carmen waved her off with a warm smile on her face. "But before you two go up, I need to see your identifications as well as signatures here please. We are nothing if not thorough about keeping our residents safe."

"Understandable." Dad and I nodded.

After a quick search of our background, we were shown to the elevator by a female security guard.

"I see that money has done this place some good." Dad commented as we rode up.

"Yes, I got to help organize a few of the rooms including the nursery on my floor." Bella replied. "Elizabeth just loves that room."

Elizabeth looked up at her mother and let out a giggle then squealed. I couldn't help but chuckle at her which only made her squeal more in giddiness.

The elevator stopped on the third floor and Bella walked out holding onto the stroller while dad continued to push it. I followed them both since the hallway was pretty narrow, although, I wanted to be next to Bella or on the other side of the stroller. We stopped at the fourth door and Bella pulled out a key to unlock the door.

The room inside was fairly nice. It was a studio style with no kitchen and a full size, basic bathroom closed off from the rest of the room. A small twin size bed was pushed against the far wall next to one of the windows with a side table. There was a desk, coffee table, a papasan chair, a loveseat, a dresser, a crib, and a small dining table set spread tastefully around the room.

Dad let out a low whistle.

"This place has turned out well, but where's the kitchen, Bells?" He asked.

"There's a community kitchen and dining room on the second floor. The offices are on the first while everything for the residence is on the other floors." Bella explained. "The board was trying to negotiate for the vacant lot behind the building to make it the community swimming pool, but the city couldn't cough up that much money."

"Ahh," Dad growled. "We'll take another look at that next tax year. I'm sure we can get those politicians to fork over some of their salaries to give to places like this."

"I know, I looked at the figures and even wrote to the governor saying that if Jubilee got a little more money for that new construction project then it would be the last one for a couple of years." Bella huffed.

"You sent him a letter?" I asked in disbelief. The Bella I knew was so mousy that she would take a heavy beating without saying a word. My girl seems to have found her voice.

She blushed in embarrassment I'm sure at my question, but nodded her head sheepishly. I walked up to her and wrapped my arms around her.

"I'm so proud of you, love." I whispered to her.

"I couldn't stand around; I had to try something…" She said.

I gave her lips a quick peck silencing her humbleness.

"You did what you could, but it will be done. We can do it." I said cryptically hoping that she hadn't forgotten our future goals.

"I know we can." With those four words, I knew she understood my message, and with that smile, she was just as passionate about the idea as I am.

"Alright you two, enough smooching." I had to laugh, dad had one hand covering his eyes while the other covered Elizabeth's eyes. Apparently she thought it was a game too and was laughing.

Bella joined in the laughter before taking her daughter out of the stroller.

"Now you be a good little girl and play while we pack everything up, ok sweetie?" Bella babbled to a still giggling Elizabeth as she crossed the room to where the crib was.

"No playpen, Bella?" Dad asked.

"No, I usually just let her roll around the room or leave her in her crib. We don't stay in this room for very long when we're awake anyways. Mostly, I take her down to the nursery to play with the other babies…she's very social too." Bella explained while pulling out some toys from the diaper bag.

"What should we pack up?" I asked looking around for boxes or luggage.

"I don't have much. Just a few things, but they're mostly in the closet there." She pointed out.

I opened it to reveal a walk in closet. A small changing table was in the back surrounded by shelves that held diapers and other baby changing supplies including clothes.

One side of the closet held Bella's small wardrobe, and on the ground below was a few pairs of shoes that had seen better days. Dad stepped in behind me to take a look; we shared a mental note to take Bella clothes shopping soon.

The opposing wall was lined with shelves that held some canned food, cleaning products—those were on the top shelf—bottles, a few dishes, and a safe.

"Hey, Bella, what's in the safe?" I asked.

Bella came into the closet, and without looking at the safe, pulled out a couple pieces of luggage.

"I'll get it." Was all she said, but something in her voice made me suspicious.

Respecting her wishes, though, I grabbed a handful of her clothes and walked into the main room.

Thankfully, Elizabeth was playing happily with her toys while we cleaned out the apartment. There were times when I had to stop and stare which made her want me to play with her. The few times that I did, Bella all but shoved me over saying I needed the bonding time.

Still, with the three of us, it only took a half an hour to pack everything up into two rolling bags and one duffle bag. The crib and the rest of the furniture had to stay, but we had our own stuff which was nice.

Dad walked in front of us wheeling the larger bags while Bella and I took our time following him. She was pushing Elizabeth who was still playing with a rag doll and I had the duffle bag. Bella pushed her weight around and slung the diaper bag around her body. Even with our help, she still liked to keep her sense of independence.

"Oh Bella," Carmen called from the front desk. "When you're done, will you and your family meet up with the rest of us in the dining hall? We would like to say goodbye to all of you."

Bella nodded her head immediately then looked down to Elizabeth. "Would you like to see your friends again before we leave, Elizabeth?" She asked.

Elizabeth looked up at the sound of her name and smiled a great toothless smile.

"I think that's a yes." I chuckled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Edward…"

"No, don't worry about it. It's your party anyways." I told her.

She kissed me on the cheek then continued to push the stroller out the doors.

"Hey, Ed," Bella called out to dad who was pushing the larger bags in the trunk of the car. "Do you think we could stick around for a little? The others want to say goodbye to me, but I know they want to turn it into a little party."

"Since when do you like parties?" He asked in mock seriousness.

Bella returned the serious face then raised her eyebrow. "Never." She replied.

"That's what I thought, but we can go if you wish. No hurry today." He chuckled letting his guard down.

We finished loading up the car—which took some serious fucking work before everything fit. It also reminded me that I needed to get my car so that Bella and I wouldn't be dependent on my dad for rides this weekend.

When everything was packed up, Bella grabbed the stroller and wheeled it back into the building with dad and me following her.

Watching her face, Bella looked both happy and sad. Happy because of her recent good luck, I'm sure, and sad because she could have to leave her new found friends behind.

This time when we entered the lobby, Carmen had another girl take her place behind the desk so that she could lead us to where the party was going on.

On the elevator ride up, Bella looked nervous which I could understand, unlike me—and apparently Elizabeth—she's always hated being the center of attention. I wrapped my arm around her for comfort and she melted into my body.

God I fucking missed her.

The doors opened on the second floor and Carmen was the first to exit while dad moved to hold the doors open for the rest of us. We followed Carmen down the long hallway until it opened up into a large open room with many women and children sitting at the tables talking. They stopped and stood when they noticed us walking into the room then the women gushed towards Bella only to be stopped by Carmen.

"Ladies, ladies, please keep calm. I know you've heard that Bella is leaving us today and want some answers, but please settle down." Carmen announced then turned towards Bella. "The floor is yours, chica."

Bella's face paled a little and she reached for my hand. I squeezed it to let her know I wasn't going anywhere.

She stepped forward while pushing the stroller. Elizabeth was looking around the room excitedly.

She cleared her throat before speaking.

"So…yeah, I'm leaving today. It was time for me to go anyways, and…a few days ago, I didn't know where I was going to go. I was lucky when I ran into Edward here." She looked up at me and I smiled her favorite smile. "As you've probably noticed, he does look a lot like Elizabeth here." This time she looked down adoringly at Elizabeth to cooed back at her. "That's because Edward is her father. He just met her for the first time about 24 hours ago, and it wasn't by choice that I couldn't tell him I was pregnant. My parents separated us when they found out about our relationship, but conceiving our little angel was a beautiful accident that I would never regret.

"My pregnancy showed who really loved me, and helped me grow a backbone." The room chuckled with her. "I knew I had to be a stronger person for my daughter since my protector, Edward, wasn't with me at the time. I ran away from my parents a few months ago and have been hiding from them ever since.

"I didn't know Edward and his father had moved to Seattle, but I was glad that fate brought us back together again since I was so caught up in trying to stay two steps ahead of my parents. I'm glad now that I can be with the man I love and know that he would never abandon me or our daughter."

Tears were glistening in her eyes and in mine. I couldn't help but bring her close enough to kiss her lips soundly. I vaguely heard the cheering in the background as well as our daughter laughing.

"You really did grow a backbone. That speech was beautiful, beautiful." I whispered against her lips.

She giggled and her blood filled her cheeks.

"Alright you two, break it up, it's fiesta time." Carmen shouted and everyone cheered again.

Bella picked up Elizabeth who was squirming in her seat then proceeded to walk around the room. Dad stayed behind to talk with Carmen while I stayed glued to Bella, my arm wrapped securely around her waist.

Many of the women surrounded her as well as the children who hugged her legs with all their might. Bella looked uncomfortable with all the attention, but kept it hidden underneath a pleasant smile. I was so fucking proud of her knowing it wasn't easy.

"Bella," An older woman with caramel colored hair came up to us.

"Oh Esme," Bella hugged her even though I was holding onto her and Elizabeth. "Esme, I'd like you to meet Edward Masen, Elizabeth's father and my boyfriend. Edward, this is Dr. Esme Cullen. She's one of the volunteers for the shelter as well as on the hospital board who provides for the center too."

I shook hands with the woman who looked naturally younger than she should be.

"An honor, I can't thank you enough for watching over my girls." I said while shaking her hand.

"I should thank you. This young woman's smile is brighter than I've ever seen. It has to be true love." She beamed at my Bella. "I trust you will take good care of her?" She glared at me.

"If I don't then I will crawl to your place and beg you to kick my ass." Bella slapped me on the arm, but it was the truth.

"Without a doubt," Esme chuckled. "You do remember that Elizabeth has an appointment with Carlisle on Monday, and promise me that you will schedule an appointment with me as well."

Reluctantly, Bella nodded her head.

"I promised I'll be there for both of you." I whispered into her ear.

She gave me a soft smile in return.

"Attention, ladies and children." Carmen called out shortly after we left Esme to talk to another woman and her infant. Elizabeth was fascinated by the little boy in his mother's arms wanting to play with him.

"Sorry to interrupt, but it's time for cake before the guests of honor leave." Carmen pointed out to a large sheet cake covered in red and white frosting.

I was drooling at the sight mostly because I was fucking hungry.

Bella and I were pushed in front of the cake by the crowd who offered their congratulations to us as we moved.

I took hold of Elizabeth as Bella picked up the knife. We held it together as we cut the first piece. I made it huge—which earned me a glare from my girl—but I was hungry and thought we could share it.

After everyone got their piece, Carmen pulled Bella up in front of the seated crowd to a large wheel. I chuckled at her as she walked up there and held Elizabeth in my lap feeding her little bits of cake.

"Now, you all know this little tradition. We at Jubilee would like to give our departing residents a parting gift to help out. This gift will be Bella's to keep and be reminded of the home she had here at Jubilee as well as the friends she made, so spin the wheel and let's see what you're getting." Carmen led the women by clapping her hands rhythmically.

The wheel stood straight up and didn't offer cash prizes like on Wheel of Fortune. These prizes were more for necessities like a new diaper bag filled with fresh diapers or a new piece of furniture. Each prize, though, came with a grocery gift card all the same amount…$200.

Bella stretch high on her toes, her blush covering her entire face, but she was smiling as she pulled down the bar and got the wheel moving.

The women were now cheering hoping the red flag would stop on their preferred prize. Even Elizabeth was getting into the excitement by squealing and clapping her hand even if it wasn't in the same timing as the crowd. I clapped along with her anyways.

Finally, the wheel started to slow down—damn, my girl had developed some muscles too—until it finally stopped on a picture of a rocking chair covered in blankets.

Dad and I stood up with the crowd cheering loudly as Carmen stepped up to hug Bella.

From my seat in the back of the room, I could tell my girl was crying, but they were happy tears. She was sad to leave, but she was so fucking happy.

"The wheel has spoken," Carmen announced quieting down the room. "Bella has won a beautiful, mahogany rocking chair with handmade blankets to take with her. I hope they help you and Elizabeth out wherever you go, chica."

"They will." Bella's soft voice echoed in the large room. "Thanks everyone for your support and friendship. I promise Elizabeth and I will never forget any of you." She promised the crowd.

The large group stood once more for another round of applause which made Bella blush even more, how that was possible, I have no fucking idea.

Carmen led Bella back into the crowd where the women intercepted her to give their hugs and best wishes and shit. I was getting too fucking impatient waiting for my girl to be back in my arms, and apparently, so was Elizabeth who was starting to kick up a fuss, but I had a feeling she was more hungry.

It took a while before Bella reached our table then she scooped up a fussy Elizabeth and kissed my lips then kissed my dad's cheek before whispering a soft thank you.

The crowd did a collective aw at the sight then laughed at Bella's reaction.

I pulled her close to my body, and with one final wave, we left the dining hall. Dad was pushing the empty stroller as Bella and I followed him. Elizabeth had calmed down since her mother picked her up and was now burrowed into Bella's chest looking for her milk.

"We'll be home soon, sweetie, and then you can eat as much as you want." Bella cooed in Elizabeth's ear.

I helped dad pack the stroller into the trunk since it was fucking full already from the larger bags then joined my girls in the backseat.

Elizabeth fussed all the way back to the house, and nothing I did made her happy. Bella explained I wasn't doing anything wrong our little girl was simply hungry. I still pouted like a fucking child inside and just doubled my efforts until we got home.

When dad turned off the car, he told Bella to get inside while we would handle the bags.

She protested at first, but then Elizabeth started to wail and she all but ran into the house.

I took the bags while he wheeled up the rollers, although, he rolled his lot into the foyer then stopped behind me to set them down.

I gave him a questioning look before hearing some soft suckling sounds coming from the living room. I understood then.

"I'll go grab some lunch and bring it home. Will you two be alright while I'm gone?" He asked.

"Yeah, no problem." I said confidently.

He tipped his head to me before walking out the front door.

While Bella sat in the living room finishing up with Elizabeth, I moved everything upstairs despite Bella's attempts to get me to stop and wait for her.

I pretended that I didn't hear her and finished before she and Elizabeth were done.

I was proud of my daughter too because she didn't need Bella to burb her after she was finished with her lunch.

"Such a big girl." Bella cooed to our sleepy baby.

"Dad will be back in a few minutes, why don't you lie her down for a nap before we go grocery shopping tonight." I said. "Better, yet, why don't we have dad babysit while we grocery shop?"

She hesitated, looking down at the sleeping angel in her arms.

"Or we can wait until she wakes up and take her with us." I offered.

"She'll be asleep for a while, what would we do until she wakes up?" She asked.

"I can think of a few ideas." I smiled nuzzling her neck.

"Edward." She hissed brushing me off.

Elizabeth stirred a little before snuggling further into Bella's chest.

Lucky girl.

"Just kidding, love." I relented. "I can move her crib in the guest room. That can be turned into her nursery; she can get used to it while we unpack your sh…bags." I caught myself.

"Nice save, Masen." She retorted.

"You know how I try, Swan." I grinned.

"I think we should wait till she wakes up," She gazed back down at Elizabeth. "I'm still not comfortable leaving her alone for too long. You should have seen how antsy I was when I started working at the diner." Then she gasped. "Oh God, I have a shift starting in a couple of hours. I hate to call in at the last minute."

"You can go if you want, work your last shift tonight and then put in your resignation afterwards. Dad can drop you off or I could whenever we can get my car." I grumbled.

"Do you still drive the Volvo?" She asked.

"Yes, although I'm thankful now that I didn't trade in that thing for a motorcycle." I laughed.

"Did you ever try for your motorcycle license?"

"After you left, I didn't feel the need for it. Especially since I didn't want to give up the Volvo, it held too many good memories." And what fucking blissful memories they were.

"Edward." She scolded quietly.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing too loud.

"Ok, I'll ask Ed if he can drop me off for work tonight and I'll talk to my supervisor about letting me go. I think he'll be relieved too."

"What do you mean by that?"

She bit her bottom lip before answering. "He's an older guy who hasn't updated his system above anything but a pen and ledger, so it's hard for anyone to trace or hack into his books. That was lucky for me, I knew Charlie was looking for me, plus, my boss paid everyone in cash."

It dawned on me about why she acted flustered in her old apartment room.

"The safe was filled with money." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, and coupons. I couldn't open a bank account and was too chicken to try and open one with a false identity."

"Coupons?" I asked.

"For groceries," She replied in her best duh voice. "I still did have to buy stuff that the shelter couldn't offer. The ladies there had a group for couponing where we would get together and share ads. I've been pretty successful on my shopping trips too."

"I'll bet you did knowing that smart brain of yours." I kissed her forehead and kept my head close to hers.

She sighed before moving, carefully, to get up. I followed her like the whipped boyfriend I was.


	11. Chapter 11

**Are you still with me? We're about half way finished with this story. Enjoy!**

Upstairs, I did as I said and moved Elizabeth's crib into the guest room that was next to my—now our—room. It was smaller than the other bedrooms in the house, but a baby doesn't need a lot of space and we won't be here forever.

Dad came home with food from an Italian restaurant rather than a burger joint like I thought. Bella was happy though which made me happy.

While we ate, we told dad our plans for the night.

"Sounds like a good plan you two thought up." He agreed. "I'm surprised with your luck, though, Bella." He chuckled.

I couldn't help but join him, he was right, Bella usually attracted trouble or danger unintentionally.

Bella did not find that amusing as we did.

"Yes, I was." She seethed at us. "I could tell my predicament had been weighing on his mind for a while. Especially since the bank has been pushing my boss towards technology, his son is an accountant and was willing to help out his father at no cost."

"Did he know your story?" Dad asked.

"He figured out that I had a past, but with all of his employees, they all had pasts and are paying their dues."

Who the fucking hell had she been working with? Druggies, thieves, murderers…my mind was in overdrive just thinking about it.

"And stop thinking, Edward, I was very safe since our employer kept a watchful eye on them." I growled under my breath and she caught me.

"Bella, I…"

"Son, you heard her." Dad eyed me, but I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"Stop it, both of you. I'm quitting tonight, end of discussion." She ordered.

God, she was so fucking cute when she was angry.

We had to finish eating quickly since Bella had to get ready for work. We talked it over and decided that dad would drop her off at the bus stop a few blocks away which would take her to work as usual.

Although the idea tore me in two, I decided to stay with Elizabeth since she was still fast asleep.

"Ok, here are her diapers, wipes, extra clothes, and other things in this bag. Toys are in this one. If you want I can write down the diner's number so that you can call me if there's a problem or you have a question. I'll call from the diner, though, to tell you when I'm getting off my shift, and please don't let me find you pacing around the room worrying over me." Bella explained.

"Bella, you need to calm down." I grabbed her as she was flying around the room. "Dad will only be gone for half an hour at most, and it will be him and me taking care of Elizabeth. I'm sure she'll keep us busy tonight."

"You're right." She sighed. "I'm just nervous." She melted into my arms.

"I know you are, love, but I promise you that nothing will go wrong." I hugged her close to me as if I would lose her again even though I knew she was coming back. She hugged me as tightly as I hugged her.

"I love you." She whispered into my chest.

"Love you too." I whispered into her hair.

With one final kiss, we walked hand in hand to our daughter's room. Bella poked her head into the small crack to check on Elizabeth then allowed me to do the same thing. She was on her side with both arms straight out in front of her looking so peaceful and safe. I vowed that she will be for as long as I lived.

Bella blew a kiss at our daughter before leading us downstairs.

"She'll probably sleep for another hour or so. She'll need a bottle, though, and I have a little breast milk that I stuck in the fridge when we arrived. It should be good, just put it in a small boiling pot and don't forget to check the milk's temperature."

"How do I do that?"

"Squirt a little on your arm to check the heat when it's done it should feel the same temperature as your skin. She's not usually picky about what she eats, and keep her awake when you feed her. If she falls asleep then she'll be up half the night."

I struggled to keep up with her directions, but nodded my head just the same.

I could do this, I need to learn this.

"I'll take care of everything." I said confidently. "We'll see you when you get home." I kissed her once more then flashed her favorite smile.

She looked skeptical but nodded her head just the same.

"Good luck." She whispered then walked out the door.

Dad followed her after giving me a knowing look. He would keep Bella safe just as I could watch over my daughter for a little while.

Not knowing what else to do, I walked quietly up the stairs. After looking once more at my little angel, who had now flopped on her back, I went into the next room to unpack Bella's clothes.

I remember how much of a neat freak she was and just decided to leave Elizabeth's things where they were figuring that Bella and I could redecorate her room maybe tomorrow. It was Sunday after all.

Or fuck me.

After Sunday was Monday meaning I had to go back to school…meaning dad had to go back to work.

"Fucking hell." I swore under my breath hoping not to wake Elizabeth up.

We needed to come up with some sort of plan for when dad and I were out and Bella was alone here with Elizabeth. She would go stir crazy, I just know it.

I got all of Bella's clothes put away and rearranged my draws to accommodate her things. Still, it was going to be a tight fit. I'll have to look into getting another dresser for her or clean out my closet even if Bella didn't have as many clothes as Alice or Rosalie.

Fuck, Alice.

I haven't seen or heard from the gang since I left campus the other day.

I'll need to touch base with them soon so they don't worry about me.

I was brought out of my musings when I heard the front door creeping open slowly.

Trending downstairs, cautiously, I peeked around the corner to see dad hanging up his coat.

"Scared you, son?" He chuckled.

"Can't be too careful," I joked back.

"There is no such thing." He laughed. "Everything go alright?"

"Yeah, Elizabeth is still sleeping and I was putting away some of Bella's clothes. I figured she would know where to put Elizabeth's things."

"Good, good. I was thinking maybe tomorrow we could redo that spare room for her."

"My thoughts exactly," I agreed. "We'll also need to come up with a plan for when I'm in class and you're at work; I don't like the idea of Bella and Elizabeth being here alone."

"Nor do I, son. We'll sit down and talk about it tomorrow with her." He rubbed his chin.

We stood there, awkwardly, just fucking standing there trying to figure out what to fucking do now. There wasn't much we could do with Elizabeth asleep upstairs. I couldn't play my music, and dad couldn't watch sports center.

"Well, uh…" He stammered. "I'm gonna get some work done in my office." He grumbled.

"I'll go…read…I guess." I mumbled then walked up to my room.

Going over to my bookshelf, one book caught my attention as I scanned the titles.

Romeo and Juliet.

Classical books were one of my favorites to read. I started reading them just because I heard girls liked sensitive guys underneath the bad ass facade. At first I was skeptical about the cheesy old English romance, but then I got hooked into them. Romeo and Juliet was one of the first and has been my fucking favorite ever since. It also held some good memories which the reason why I had a hard time even looking at the book after Bella left.

That's how we first discovered our chemistry was not just teenage hormones mixed with booze.

In English class we were reading the book and our stupid, fuck-head teacher decided to have us role play different scenes as a project.

God, I hated the idea at first only because we had to dress up as the characters and stand on a stage…actually acting out the scene. Those fucking tights gave me a fucking rash.

I remember Bella being so nervous when we rehearsed during class. She read the lines beautifully which was when I fell for her, and when it was our turn to present, it was just as beautiful.

I felt like she was really saying those lines to me…me only and not just for some lame-ass project. Our scene was the first time Romeo and Juliet met at the ball.

And that kiss.

Holy motherfucker, the kiss was one hundred fucking percent real. I knew it and so did she.

It was the beginning of our relationship.

After she left and I was packing my shit up after graduation, I thought about burning the book, but I couldn't fucking do it. It would be like burning her—destroying her.

Pulling down the book, a huge ass smile spread across my face.

I thought my life would end up like the ending of this tragedy, but I'm so fucking grateful it turned out even better.

Bella and I are like Romeo and Juliet, except, against the odds, we're still alive and have a little miracle sleeping in the next room.

I sat down on my couch that overlooked the front yard and opened the book to the prologue.

I had just finished the first act when I heard some whimpering. It sounded familiar until my brain kicked my ass to move.

Elizabeth. She was finally awake and didn't sound happy.

I opened the door to her room and she was sitting up clutching her blanket tightly in her little fists with tears coming down her cheeks. She looked just like her mother in that instant. She was scared.

"Hey, little one," I cooed softly walking over to her. "Shhh…daddy's here, daddy's here."

She snuggled into my chest as I held her.

Wrapping the blanket around her for comfort, I took her downstairs.

Dad came out of his office when he heard us on the stairs.

"Hello, sunshine, did you sleep well?" He asked, but Elizabeth was still buried in my chest. "You go sit with her; I'll make her a bottle."

I did as he said grateful that he knew what to do.

Elizabeth had stopped whimpering and the tears had stopped falling, but she was still clinging to me. I nuzzled my face in her soft hair like I did to Bella when she was upset. It always calmed her down and Elizabeth was no different.

"It's alright, Elizabeth, did you have a nice nap?" I whispered softly to her. "I'm sure that room looked a little scary now, but soon daddy, mommy, and grandpa will have it all fixed up and beautiful, although, no one could be any more beautiful than you or your mama, my little beauty."

She lifted her eyes to meet mine and gave me the smallest of smiles. It wasn't like her usual mysterious smile, but it was pretty damn adorable all the same.

I gave her one of my big crooked grins and kept talking to her.

"Hmm…how should we decorate your room? You don't strike me as a pinkish baby girl, and your mama will have my uh head if we do. She fu…really, really hates pink." I was careful to watch what I said in front of her. I didn't know how soon she'll be talking, but if she was mine and Bella's kid then she would be chatting up a storm soon enough.

"I got an idea, how about we paint your walls like you're in a meadow? Huh? I think that sounds like a great idea, and I'm sure mama will love that. She used to love it when I took her to our secret meadow back in Forks, but don't tell anyone. It's a secret. Shhh," Call me a fucking pussy for talking like this, but it's for my daughter, so fuck off.

Dad waltz in a few minutes later trying to hold back his grin, I think he might have caught some of my conversation.

"Want me to feed her?" He asked.

I gave him that look that said 'are you crazy?' He handed me the bottle like I was going to fight him over it.

"Dad, I'm not going to rip your arm off, but I would like some time with my daughter." I said emphasizing the word my.

He held up his hands in defense then retreated to his favorite chair.

"In all fairness, Edward, she's my granddaughter and I'm your father, Luke." He chuckled.

I chuckled along with him. Elizabeth laughed along with us.

"I know," I whispered to her as I put the nipple in her mouth, "he's crazy."

"But ya gotta love me." He held his arms out wide and laughed at his own joke.

I shook my head at him then turned back to Elizabeth who was squirming in my arms.

"Is it play time, little girl? Or is it dinner time?" I brought her stomach up to my face and blew a raspberry on it.

She squealed as I did it again and again. I was one happy motherfucker because this is the loudest laugh she has given since she came into my life.

I really felt like the luckiest bastard alive.

"Seriously, though, what should we do?" I asked her again. Her face was the color of a tomato from laughing so hard. "Mommy won't be home for a few hours, do you think you can stay awake that long?"

Elizabeth looked into my eyes for a few more seconds before starting to squirm again.

"Thanks, babe," I chuckled once then sat her down before finding the diaper bag that was by the couch.

I pulled out a few of her toys and sat with her. For some reason, I was fucking nervous about letting her out of my sight.

"Edward," Dad shook his head disapprovingly at me. I shrugged asking him 'what the fuck?' "You don't need to stick to her like gum to a shoe. She'll be fine. A little bruise is no big deal."

My face changed into a glare. "Dad, you forget who her mother is; Bella, who is prone to accidental danger in all forms. I will protect my little girl if I wish."

"Alright," He dropped it pretty easily which left me fucking stunned. "By the way, did you notice Elizabeth has slip pass your guard?"

I looked down to where she was playing not thirty fucking seconds ago and she was gone.

Holy Hell! I lost my baby.

Dad chuckled and when I looked over at him to give him a piece of my mind, I was fucking speechless.

Elizabeth had crawled to him with her doll in hand. Dad picked her up and sat her on his lap. She played with her toy giggling up a storm as he bounced her on his knee.

Holy fucking damn, this girl was going to make me prematurely grey.

"Relax, son, you were the same way. Couldn't sit too long before something else caught your attention. I thought it was ADD, but your mother argued it was because you were a curious baby."

"And she was right." I replied with a smug grin.

He chuckled. "Damn right, your mother was always right."

"Dad," I growled at him and sent a pointed look to his granddaughter who was, thank fuck, still absorbed in her ragged doll.

"Who made that little monstrosity for you, little miss?" Dad cooed at Elizabeth.

She ignored him, obviously the doll was her favorite thing in the world, but I hope I would outrank it soon.

"I bet Bella made that." I said. "She once told me that her mom dragged her to sewing classes during one of her phases. Remember those mittens she gave you for Christmas that were both left-handed."

"Yeah, I even wore them the other day too." He laughed.

The phone rang just then, but I told dad I would get it and he went back to playing with Elizabeth.

I couldn't take my fucking eyes off them if I wanted to.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Edward?" It was Bella, whispering on the other line.

"Bella, baby, what's wrong; is everything alright?" I asked.

"Edward, I need you to come get me, quickly."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at the gas station down the street from the diner."

"What the fuck are you doing there?" My voice was becoming more hysterical by the minute.

"Calm down, and don't use that language in front of Elizabeth." I rolled my eyes, even when she's in trouble she scolds me for my bad behavior.

I looked at dad silently asking him to take care of Elizabeth. He waved me on, but I still saw the worry in his eyes.

"Alright," I told Bella. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Wait, please go the speed limit." It wasn't a request.

"Why, I need to get to you ASAP." I asked confused by her order.

"Because the police are at the diner, I didn't get all the details, but when he saw the flashing lights, my boss told me to run after he gave me my last paycheck.

"Edward, I don't want you to look suspicious, so please be careful. I'm pretty sure Charlie is behind this."

I wiped my face with my hand and dragged it through my hair.

"Alright, I'll be there soon. Please try to stay out of trouble until I get there." It was a long shot and the snort coming from the other end made me backtrack. "Ok, just…stay there…I guess."

"I love you." She whispered then hung up.

"It would appear that mommy's coming home earlier than expected. " Dad said to Elizabeth.

She started squealing and her doll almost fell from her grasp.

"I'll be back with mommy, babe." I kissed her head and tickled her tummy. "Love you, baby girl."

I nodded to my dad in thanks who returned the gesture then ran out the door with dad's keys digging into my palm.

I took Bella's advice and drove with caution not even going over the speed limit. I was lucky I did too since there cops were swarming the area where the diner was located. A few people had been pulled over.

At a red light, I saw a pair of cops talking to an old guy who had been pulled from his car. They looked like they were questioning him, but that wasn't what made me nauseous…Charlie Swan standing across the street.

Holy Fucking Hell! He was so close to Bella.

I could see the diner from the light I was at and the only gas station on this street was a couple of blocks further down.

I was praying like fucking mad that the cops hadn't made it over there yet.

Making sure to be extra cautious, I tapped lightly on the gas when the light turned green.

The diner was flooded with cops, and I fucking doubt they went in for the coffee or sundaes. People were standing both inside and out being questioned by the cops. Thank fucking God they hadn't made it down to the gas station…yet…when I pulled in.

The building was small as fuck, so I figured Bella wouldn't hide in there.

The only other place I could think of was the bathroom.

Ah, fuck, like I really wanted to go there.

Again, I thanked my fucking lucky stars.

I had parked in front of the restrooms, but before I turned off the engine, Bella poked her head out of the door. She saw me immediately then looked around before sprinting to the passenger side of the car.

She nearly made it, but being Bella she tripped and landed on the hood of the car. She jumped up before I could get out and continued walking—a little slower—towards the door.

When the door slammed, we both exhaled as if we had been holding our breaths.

The look in her eyes could only be described as terror. She was scared to death, and I couldn't blame her.

Taking in a breath each, she slipped on her seatbelt while I backed up the car. Just as I was pulling into traffic, a squad car was pulling in…and not just any car.

Unfortunately, it was the car that Chief Charlie Swan was riding in, but he didn't look up from whatever the hell he was reading in his hands as we pulled out.

Deciding to follow dad's lead, I took a few wrong turns before getting on the correct road toward home.

I looked over at Bella since she was quiet through the whole ride and it broke my heart.

Her face was blank; it was her way of dealing with stress by shutting down in order to process her feelings.

"I'm sorry." I barely heard her whisper. "I'm sorry this happened."

"Bella, it wasn't your fault. It's your parents' fucking fault." I took a breath to compose myself. "If they didn't have such thick fucking sticks shoved up their asses, they would have accepted us a long time ago."

She was quiet again before she said something that made me want to cry.

"Do you regret Elizabeth?"

I couldn't believe she fucking said that. How could she think that I regret Elizabeth?

"Bella," I said trying to stay calm. "The only thing I regret is not looking for you hard enough. If it was up to me, I would have driven down to Phoenix; I'd drive to the fucking North Pole if I had any fucking clue you were there." I took another breath; she didn't need to see me so worked up.

"There was a knife hanging over my head, love, or a gun if you want to be accurate. Dad tried to find you using legal matters, but Charlie used those to hide you. Now look at him…he's abusing his fucking power to find you all because he doesn't use his motherfucking eyes."

She snorted, the last thing I expected from her, but what else was new.

"And Renee just follows the crowd." She shook her head and looked at me. "I tried to reason with her, persuade her like I use to when her next hair-brained ideas were too extreme for her standards.

"Like you, I don't regret Elizabeth. I love her with all my heart, but when Renee found out I was pregnant all my powers of persuasion were squashed.

"Remember when I told you she always fucking drilled into my head that I wouldn't find the 'one' until I'm nearly thirty?" She hissed the word thirty. "Same thing about pregnancy and kids, only when I'm married to the right man then the baby will safe and happy. Whatever the fucking hell that shit means."

I chuckled at her for swearing then reached for her hand; it was killing me to sit for so long without touching her.

"I don't think it was in the stars for us to wait until we were thirty before we met. We probably would have waited a little longer to have kids if they just accepted us." She continued.

"Maybe we could have been married too." I joked earning a glare from her. "Babe, I know you don't like to talk about marriage, but refresh my memory, you know how fucked up it can be."

"So can your fucking language." She glared in mock seriousness.

"Please tell me why you don't want to marry me?" I asked serious.

She looked down at her fingers that were tracing patterns in my open palm on her lap.

"I…I just don't know anymore. I guess looking at my parents' failed marriage and now at Renee and Phil's. I think they're getting a divorce soon, it wouldn't surprise me with all that I've put them through."

"It's not your fault, Bella. We've been through this. Plus, I have to tell you that Renee and Phil are in the middle of a divorce right now."

"What?" She exclaimed.

"I promise to tell you the details later, but please tell me why you're so opposed to marriage. You know that we would never be like your parents'; our love is fucking stronger than that. I mean my parents…"

"I know, I know, they eloped after knowing each other for two months in college."

"Exactly, for them they knew they had found their soul mates and figured 'why wait?'" I counted to ten before continuing. "I love you, Bella, more than my own life, and I love our daughter even though I've only known her for a little while. I love you both and I don't want to lose either one of you."

We were almost home before she answered and it was scaring the shit out of me. Was she thinking that this is too much and that she needs to run again? It would literally kill me if she did.

"It would kill me too." Damn me and my big mouth. "Do you really want to marry me, Edward?"

I pulled into the driveway, turned off the engine, and pulled Bella's lips to mine.

"More than you'll ever know, but do you want to marry me, Bella?" I asked.

She searched my eyes as I searched hers. It felt like an hour had passed before I could see the answer clearly in her chocolate orbs.

"Yes." She smiled.

"Yes?" I asked hopeful that I had heard her right.

"Yes, you motherfucker, I will marry you." She laughed.

I nearly tackled her trying to kiss her with everything I had in me. Showing her how much I loved her and needed her.

"I love you, Bella, so much."

"I love you too, Edward. More than I should."

If it wasn't for the fucking console in between us, I would have climbed over to Bella and show her how much I loved her. Well that and the fact that this is my father's car and I don't think he would be very happy to find out what we did to his interior.

When my lungs felt like they were burning from lack of oxygen, I pulled back and stared into my Bella's flushed face. She was even more heavenly than I remembered.

"Let's go in and see our daughter." She said giving me another chaste kiss.


	12. Chapter 12

We ended up ordering pizza for a late dinner because of the police driving around town. Dad offered that if Bella wrote out a shopping list he would go pick everything up.

Of fucking course, she protested at first, but I persuaded her by whispering sweet nothings in her ear. She was a fucking goner and she knew it.

However, she did make us eat a whole can of spinach with the pizza. When dad and I were cleaning up while Bella breastfed Elizabeth, he and I agreed that spinach would be banned from this household.

Bath time with Elizabeth went just as well as it did last night, but after a good cuddle she drifted off to sleep in my—our room.

"Do you know when you get that new rocking chair?" I asked her while we were sitting in the living room with our books.

"They said it would be no more than a week. I'm excited to see it." She answered.

"I'm happy that you're happy." I kissed the side of her head.

"Or are you just happy that I agreed to marry you." She whispered. She was so fucking shy about this whole marriage talk around people including my dad.

"Both." I answered back also in a whisper. "When should we tell my dad? Or when would you like to see your ring?"

"You got it already?" She asked.

"It's been in the Masen family for generations." I said. "The last woman to wear it was my mother."

She was about to speak up when I placed my finger over her lips effectively silencing whatever cockshit, humble excuses she was going to say.

"Bella, the Masen ring belongs to our soul mates and you're mine. You know that, you know how much I love you, respect you. You may be stubborn as hell sometimes, but you are also strong and never stop fighting for what you believe in.

"That is what it takes to wear the ring and I'd be honored if you wear it and be part of the Masen family. What do you say?"

"No pressure, huh," She smiled.

"No, in fact, dad drilled that speech into my head a lot growing up. Apparently, it's supposed to be the proposal speech that every man in my family has used since the ring was first used back in the 19th fucking century." I laughed.

"Let's try again, please." She nodded her head and I got up from my seat to drop down to one knee.

"Isabella Swan, would you do me the extraordinary honor of marrying me?" I asked.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked into mine. I was afraid, for a second that she would turn me down. Mostly, I was afraid this would all be a dream, and I'll be waking up in a few minutes without hearing dream-Bella's answer.

"Yes." She whispered.

And that's when I knew I wasn't dreaming.

I stood up taking Bella into my arms and swinging her around until we were laughing uncontrollably. That is until we heard a little baby girl starting to fuss upstairs.

"Congratulations you two," Dad said coming out of his study, I fucking forgot he was there, but who the fuck gives a shit. "I'll go put Elizabeth back to sleep, and you two can dig out the ring from my room. I think it's still in your mother's old jewelry box."

Looking at Bella, I grabbed her hand and we made a mad dash up the stairs, flying past dad and into his room. I could hear him chuckling, but it sounded ghostly from cloud nine.

My mother's jewelry box had been a gift from dad for their first anniversary along with a string of pearls that were buried with her. Since their first anniversary, all of the jewels dad gave to mom over the years were in that box just waiting to be handed down as mom always hoped.

I found the box on dad's dresser next to a picture of mom. It was taken a few months before she passed away; she was hugging me tightly just like I was doing to her.

I can still feel her arms around me sometimes and expect to see the ring sparkle from her finger that would catch the light. It was part of her and I couldn't see anyone else wearing it besides my Bella, the girl—no…the woman I love.

Opening the box, the ring was nestled in the soft velvet. The other pieces of jewelry could not even match to its refined beauty…sounds like someone else I know.

Carefully, I plucked the ring from its spot and turned towards Bella who still had tears running down her face.

I kissed them all away before slipping my mother's ring on her finger. It fit like a charm.

"You know," I said. "There is a legend in our family that this ring has not been needed to be resized since it was originally forged."

She eyed the ring not in disgust like I would have thought a couple years ago, but in awe.

She looked up at me and mouthed 'thank you' unable to find her voice. Though, what she couldn't say in words, she made up for it with a kiss.

We stood there trading soft kisses of our love and commitment to one another.

"I would love to show you how much I love you, but we have a daughter who shares our room." I said regrettably.

"Soon," She kissed me once again then took my hand and we walked out of the room.

The next morning, Bella and I found ourselves in the kitchen at six am cooking breakfast. Not that we really minded it.

Elizabeth couldn't go back to sleep after her final feeding this morning, I think she must have felt her parents' excitement.

I still can't believe that Bella said she would marry me. When we were in high school, I knew that she was _the_ one for me, but figured that I would have to wait and wear her down for a decade before she accepted my mother's ring.

Thank God it didn't come to that. Now she's wearing the ring on her finger with pride as she scrambles up the eggs.

"What are you staring at?" She asks pulling me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head and paid a little more attention to the bacon.

"I'm just…I don't know…really, really happy that you accepted my proposal." Yeah I sound like a fucking pussy, but for the millionth time, WHO THE FUCK CARES?

"So am I." She replied, her smile stretching so big it wrapped around her face.

"'Bout time too," Dad said walking into the kitchen. He took a seat next to Elizabeth who was eating or playing with her cheerios. "So what are we doing today?"

"We still need to go grocery shopping. This is all that's left of the eggs and you're completely out of bread and butter."

Dad sighed then nodded his head in agreement.

"Dad, would it be ok if Bella and I redecorate the spare room for Elizabeth?" I asked.

"Sounds like a plan." He nodded his head again. "It looks like we'll have a busy day today, Lizzie girl."

"Do you have any homework?" Bella asked me as she was plating the eggs.

I gave her a mock glare and replied. "Who are you, my mother?"

She shoved her shoulder into my arm as she passed by me to the table.

I chuckled at her. "No, love, I finished it all last week before we bumped into each other. I've been so bored lately, and the homework doesn't provide much of a distraction."

"The classes are easy I take it?"

I rolled my eyes at that. "That's an understatement. My professors make the advance classes we took in high school look like blow off classes, so there's no need to worry about being a failing freshmen."

She looked skeptical at that. Bella had always been an exceptional student, but she would often spend hours obsessing over her work to make it perfect. That stemmed from her parents' obsession for perfection.

I remember one night when I was hiding in Bella's closet because Charlie came home from the station unexpectedly and gave Bella an hour long lecture on the importance of maintaining good grades.

So she got a fucking B+ on the trig exam, big fucking whoop. She actually got the highest grade in the class even higher me by one fucking point, that shit was hard as hell.

Charlie left shortly after belittling his daughter to go back to the station for the nightshift he volunteered for and I held my Bella that night as she cried to sleep. Although, she continually denied that she was upset at Charlie for calling her lazy instead she argued that she was disappointed in herself for doing so badly. We argued for a week over that until the teacher decided to drop the test grade for everyone.

That was the first time we learned that make up sex was hot as hell.

"You really need to stop overthinking." I could see the wheels in her head turning plus she was also biting her lower lip, something she does when she's obsessing.

She was about to say something when dad interrupted us.

"How about after breakfast we get cleaned up and head out to go grocery shopping? After that we can start planning how Elizabeth's room will look."

"We've actually already talked about it and want it to look like a spring meadow. Think you can help us with that?" Bella spoke up.

"Good plan, I think there is some left over paint in the garage. We can take inventory of what we have and plan what we need to get." He agreed.

I took one last huge ass bite of my food, but was scolded by Bella.

"What?" I asked when my mouth was clear.

"Can't you be a little more mature around your daughter?" She pointed out to Elizabeth who was shoveling cheerios in her mouth without missing a beat.

"Hey, hey, slow it down, tiger. Daddy doesn't want you to choke, ok, baby girl?" I pulled her little fist back from her mouth and refused to release it until she was done with what was in her mouth.

She practically glared at me, again, looking like my mother. I had to hold my laugh not wanting her to encourage her. Thankfully, she got the message when I released my gentle hold on her and continued to eat her breakfast slowly.

"Good girl." I kissed the side of her head before getting up with my plate.

Dad handed me his before I walked away from the table though, while Bella continued eating.

"Well, since you're playing instead of eating, Lizzie girl, grandpa will just take you upstairs to get ready for the day while mommy and daddy clean up." Elizabeth giggled loudly as dad boosted her up in the air a little.

"But…" I started, but dad gave me that parental glare that shut me up.

Still, I rolled my eyes like the fucking rebel I was.

"He just wants to spend time with Elizabeth." Bella said coming up behind me with her plate. She had only eaten half of her food.

"That I know, but what I don't know is why you didn't finish?" I asked. This had been bugging me every time I watched her eat. "You're not sick are you?"

"No, I'm fine." I raised an eyebrow at her; she's used that phrase one too many times in the past. "Edward, trust me, I am fine. There was too much food on my plate and I got full."

I growled under my breath.

"Love, you're so thin. It worries me."

"Edward, I said I'm fine. I haven't been starving myself. I've just been so busy lately that eating isn't really at the forefront of my mind."

She was right, between work and Elizabeth, how much free time did she have to herself?

"Can you please just try to finish everything on your plate? I know I didn't give you a huge portion this morning."

She wrapped her arms around my waist and reached up to my lips. I met her halfway.

"Deal," She smiled.

I smiled back and kissed her again.

We were already dressed, so after she finished we headed out to the garage to see what dad had.

"I forgot how much of a packrat your dad was." Bella complained as we weaved around the boxes. The garage was big enough to house two cars plus extra room for storage, but with all this junk in here you could only fit one fucking car in it.

"Don't I know it? I keep telling him that he needs to get rid of it all, but then we get into the debate of why he shouldn't. Sometimes I hate that he's a fucking lawyer." I shook my head.

Bella chuckled once, "Let's just hope we don't get that bad."

Thankfully, dad had the place pretty much organized. The paint was pretty easy to find on the shelves near the tool area.

"Damn." I said.

I didn't realize how much paint dad had.

"I know I just hope that this stuff is still good." Bella said moving towards the shelf. I grabbed her before she could take a second step. "Edward." She scolded, not playfully.

"Ah Bella, do you really think you should be the one to get the paint?" I asked hiding my amusement.

She stopped to think about it for a second then spun around in my arms.

"Alright, you get the paint and I'll hunt for the brushes and shit." She teased.

"Fine by me," I kissed her nose then released her.

Luckily, dad had plenty of blue and green paint. There was also a few other colors that we could use to make the flowers and trees.

Bella and I stacked the supplies on the workshop bench as dad came strolling into the garage with my favorite little girl, but refused to give her to me when I approached.

"Dad," I whined.

"Don't dad me, Edward." Dad chided. "Besides, who knows how long I'll be around to hold this little angel?" He pouted.

Elizabeth thought it was hilarious and reached for his mustache that was twitching.

"Funny, dad, play the sympathy card why don't ya." I said only half serious. I was a fucking sucker when it came to hearing my daughter laugh.

"Oh God," Bella suddenly exclaimed. "I nearly forgot about my lists and the coupons."

She tried to run, but I grabbed her arm causing her body to swing into mine.

"And why would we need to do that?" I asked.

She eyed dad and me before answering. "Because smarties, if Charlie is watching you two wouldn't he be watching your credit cards as well?" She shrugged. "Wouldn't he find it suspicious that you bought a crap load of diapers or wipes or even feminine products?"

I shuttered internally for that. As much as I loved this woman, her 'female problems' always grossed me out.

"Get used to it, Edward." Dad bumped into my shoulder with his. "I can see your point, Bella, but what about…"

"No Ed, I'm pretty good at watching what I spend. I've gotten it to the point that I only spend a total of forty dollars in a month and I can get so much out it at the same time."

"No kidding, so that show is legitimate?" Dad asked flabbergasted.

"Heck yeah, there was a coupon club at the shelter that I was involved in. It helped me save a ton of money, mostly on baby stuff."

Bella was really excited about this, so dad and I let her get her stuff while he and I buckled Elizabeth into her car seat.

When Bella came out, she was carrying a big black binder which made her look like she was going to class.

I gave her a questioning look to which she opened up the binder to show off her collection of coupons and notes.

Damn, she was smart, and I just fell in love with her more.

Dad had decided to drive to the Thriftmart, but told us that he would wait in the car to watch out for cops or worst…Charlie.

"Don't forget, if I call you to warn you, leave the cart, pick up Elizabeth and all the possessions you brought, and walk calmly, but cautiously out here. Got it?" He said in his no-nonsense voice.

We nodded our heads automatically seeing this could be potentially dangerous.

About an hour later, Bella had completed her baby shopping and we had moved onto stuff for the house. I was keeping Elizabeth preoccupied since she didn't seem to like grocery shopping while Bella strutted up and down the aisles like Alice would through a mall.

We were on our last leg in the fresh produce section when Elizabeth started to really kick up a fuss.

"Mama's almost done and then I can feed you when we go home, sweetheart." She cooed to our daughter.

It didn't settle her too much, but soon we were done and moved to the registers.

Bella pulled up her cart first and I helped to unload it.

She got so much stuff from diapers to shampoo for the both of them, and a "What to expect while Expecting: Infants" book which was on sale. All that stuff came at under twenty dollars with the book making up the majority of the sale. Although, I had to pretend I didn't see the boxes of tampons going down the belt.

I had to laugh at my girl and so did our daughter. Bella was so excited she was dancing in the aisle when the cashier told her the grand total with all the coupons scanned in.

Next it was time for the second cart. Bella also had a few coupons that were about to expire so we saved over a hundred dollars on that load which seemed to please Bella very much.

"Dang, you should be on that extreme couponing show." The cashier gushed to us handing me the receipt.

Dad gave me his credit card and people rarely noticed the senior/junior thing when checking that shit.

"Have a good day." She waved at us as we moved towards the front door.

As we were about to leave, my phone went off making Bella jump. We had both been waiting for this.

"Dad," I greeted.

"Son, how far are you two from being done?" He asked.

"We just finished and are almost out the door. Where are they?" I asked.

"One police cruiser just pulled up at the North entrance."

"We're coming out at the South." I told him.

"I moved to the row in front of your exit. Find me quick then start walking, don't look around either, it'll just make you look more suspicious." He instructed.

"Thanks for the update, dad." I hung up then pulled up my hood to cover my hair. It was too unusual that anyone could recognize me easily.

"Follow me." I said to Bella who was shaking a little.

I kissed her forehead trying to calm her, it left her a little dazed, but otherwise fine.

Taking a deep breath, followed by a short prayer, we headed outside into the nearly spring air.

I purposely didn't take long strides knowing that Bella would have to jog a bit in order to keep up which would make someone notice. It was also fucking difficult not to look around when I could feel eyes scanning us as we walked.

When I spotted dad's car next to a large SUV I jogged up a bit for those last few yards. Dad was out of the car with the trunk open waiting for us.

Like a well-rehearsed machine, Bella grabbed Elizabeth and buckled her in the backseat while dad and I started piling things into the open trunk. Bella came out when she was done to help load things that were more breakable into the front seat knowing that she and I would sit in the back with Elizabeth.

We were nearly done when I felt the eyes again burning into our backs.

Out of my preverbal vision I saw a cop car pulling down our aisle.

"Get in the car, sweetheart." I told Bella who hadn't seen the cop yet.

Without looking she obeyed closing the back door behind her.

Dad, I could tell, was also watching the cop moving closer to us. Still, he didn't look rattled about it. I followed his lead until both carts were empty.

Dad was parked next to the cart corral so I pushed both of the carts in with the others and walked steadily back towards the car all the while watching the cop move slowly toward us.

My heart was racing, but I didn't let it show nor did I look directly at them.

Dad had started the car as I got into the back shutting the door behind me.

Now that we were surrounded by black-tinted windows, I looked around nervous as hell that we'd been caught. Dad stayed confident as he slowly backed up.

The cop car was only a few slots away from us as we pulled out of our parking spot.

Looking over at Bella, her face was white as a sheet and she was sweating.

When dad pulled out into traffic with no one following us, I reached over for Bella's hand which was clutched tightly to the leather of the seat.

"Bella, love, let go." I said to her soothingly.

I was able to loosen her grip and brought her hand down to touch Elizabeth's pant-clad leg who was chewing on her fist. Bella looked down at our daughter which seemed to wake her up. She looked up at me and took a deep breath like she had been holding it.

"It's alright now, baby, I won't let them near you." I promised stroking her arm.

She nodded her head acknowledging me, but didn't say anything.

Dad had a serious look on his face as he continued driving on the freeway where he took the wrong exit and a few more wrong turns before he found our driveway.

Bella had calmed down considerably during the drive while I kept Elizabeth entertained. I was quickly learning that like my woman or fiancée, Elizabeth could help keep me calm in stressful situations.

"Bella," She turned towards me, "why don't you take Elizabeth in and dad and I can take care of the groceries." I proposed.

She barely nodded her head before stepping out of the car. I unbuckled Elizabeth as Bella slung the diaper bag over her shoulder then reached to grab our daughter.

Dad was already grabbing a couple of bags when I joined him.

Inside the house, Bella mumbled something about Elizabeth's diaper, probably she was going to change it was my guess. It only took dad and me two trips to get everything in the house. We were in the middle of putting stuff away when Bella came into the kitchen with Elizabeth then placed her in her highchair and helped us.

We worked quietly except for the constant babble coming from Elizabeth, but it wasn't long before we were finished and Bella shooed us away so she could fix lunch.

"This is getting more serious." Dad paced when he lead me into his study.

"I know," I huffed in frustration. "We can't go anywhere without worrying about Charlie finding us."

"Did you talk to Bella about what happened last night?" He asked going behind his desk to sit on his chair.

"A little, all she said is that her boss got her out after giving her her last paycheck."

Dad was about to speak when Bella called us into the kitchen for lunch.

She made hot dogs with chips on the side, no vegetable or fruit in sight. She was still thinking.

"I heard you talking about me." She said when she finished feeding Elizabeth her canned food.

I chewed my bite slowly trying to think of something, fortunately, dad got to it first.

"We're sorry, Bella honey, we're just trying to understand the movements of the police."

"You mean Charlie." She said with a harsher voice. "I have no idea why he's going to these extremes. It's like he's flipping the city upside down to find me."

I pulled her into my side for comfort

"Can you tell us what happened last night?" I asked.

"I was a little early for my shift and decided to talk to my boss before I got started. It was slow on the floor so it wasn't a big issue.

"He took it well when I told him I couldn't work for him anymore no matter how much I loved it there. He said it wouldn't be a problem and wished me the best before handing me my last paycheck including a little more for that night. He didn't even want me to work that shift.

"Just as I was about to call you, we saw flashing lights coming from the front windows. My boss told me to use his private entrance which I did while he went up to the front to talk to the officers coming in.

"I hid at the gas station down the street not knowing what else to do then called you from a payphone and you picked me up." She shrugged.

"Hmm…interesting…" Dad mused. "I'll have to check with my friends at the precinct to see what's going on there."

"But what about…"

"Don't worry your little head, Bella sweetie; the attorneys of Seattle are more like a fraternity. We're very loyal to our own. I've had a couple looking into the situation for me."

"Really," She asked.

"Of course," He rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, and also, Edward mentioned something about Renee and Phil being in the middle of a divorce. Why is that happening?"

"I can't tell you why the decision was made, but I can tell you it was Phil who filed the papers." Dad answered.

"Phil?" Bella sat straight up. "What…why? He said he would try to get my mom to see reason after I'd leave."

"Bella, sweetie, calm down, I told you that I don't know why Phil filed the papers we just know he did."

Bella slumped against the back of her chair and I knew the face she was giving. She was feeling the weight of the world resting on her shoulders; she was thinking that this was her fault.

"Stop thinking that." I whispered into her ear.

"But…" She started, but I stopped her.

"No, we've been through this before; you can't take the blame for anything and everything that happens in life. Understand?"

She hesitated before nodding her head.

Fucking hell, she was never going to get over this.

"Agh," Dad grumbled, he was thinking the same thing.

Thankfully, the doorbell rang stopping this argument. Unfortunately, it made us suspicious and Bella jumped at the sound. Elizabeth wasn't affected by it. Dad put on his poker face then got up to answer the door while Bella and I waited practically holding our breath out of fear for whoever was here.


	13. Chapter 13

"Well, isn't this a nice surprise." Dad greeted our unsuspecting visitors.

"We're sorry to bother you, Mr. Masen, but we haven't heard from Edward all weekend." It was Jasper meaning the others were outside too.

"He never came back from his run on Friday; we were worried that something had happened to him, and with all the police running around we thought he would be in danger or in trouble. Don't get me wrong, I know that as a lawyer you've raised him to obey the law, but we…"

I had to interrupt her; she was getting on my fucking nerves.

"Alice, we're fine." I yelled at her. Might as well get this over with, I thought. Looking at Bella, she had the same thought.

I heard Alice's heels following my voice until she screeched to a halt in front of the table. I could see the wheels in her head turning as her eyes bugged out.

"Hey, Alice," Bella greeted getting up to hug her.

Alice remained still as Bella's arms wrapped around her while the others filed into the room.

"Hey, guys." I greeted everyone then gathered up Elizabeth. She seemed a bit nervous with everyone staring at her. "Sorry I haven't been back at the dorms, been a little busy this weekend."

"We can see that," Emmett was about to continue, which would've been fucking something most likely stupid before Rosalie smacked him upside the head. "What, babe?" He asked her confused.

"There's a baby in the room, Emmett, so if you would like you tongue to stay in your mouth you will watch it."

He had that glint in his eye like he was going to say something else, but thought better of it when Rosalie's glare hardened at him.

"So, you're Bella." Jasper greeted holding out his hand. Like the southern gentleman he was, he kissed Bella's hand. Had he been single, I would be seeing red at the moment.

"Yeah, and you must be Jasper," How the hell did she know that? "Alice and Rosalie told me about you two."

Oh fucking duh, I forgot that Bella had met Rosalie and Alice before. Jesus, I'm slow today.

"Why didn't I see it before?" Alice said finally coming out of her trance.

"Because you've been busy with midterms, darlin'," Jasper answered her.

"No, I mean yes, but look, she looks so much like you, Edward. Fuck I'm an idiot…Oh crap, I'm so sorry, baby, I didn't mean to say fuck…on damn I said it again. Jeez, I can't stop."

"Then why don't you stop talking or slow down so your brain can catch up with your mouth." I smirked.

"Edward, behave." Bella chastised, but her lips were tugging up in amusement. "I'm sorry you've missed Edward, he's been helping Elizabeth and I get settled this weekend."

"Oh, what happened?" Alice pulled Bella into one of the chairs to sit down. Rosalie joined them. "Did you get kicked out of the shelter, lose your job, did someone die?"

Well two out of three isn't bad.

Bella chuckled. The last thing I would have thought she'd do.

"My deadline at the Jubilee shelter was over this weekend, so I had to move out. I'm thankful I found somewhere to live, though. And as for my job, I had to quit…the um hours were getting pretty hard to keep up with." Bella answered.

No one believed her. Poor Bella was never that good at telling lies.

"Isabella Marie Swan, you tell me what's going on right now. I'm your friend and friends don't keep secrets like this. I mean, why didn't you tell us that your deadline was coming up? And how could you keep this from us, Edward, that she was the mother of your child?"

"Whoa, whoa, time out, Alice. First of all, I didn't even know Bella had a baby until a few days ago when we ran into each other at the park." I explained gently swaying said baby.

"You ran into each other?" Rosalie asked a mix of disbelief and disinterest in her voice.

"Yes, it was the park a few miles from campus. I was out on my run and when Bella called we figured out we were at the same place. I met up with her and saw Elizabeth for the first time."

"Did it freak you out, man?" Emmett chuckled, keeping things light.

I looked at the little girl in my arms who was watching everyone in earnest.

"Yeah, it did, but I'm happy that I have her."

The girls awed while the guys rolled their eyes, but who fucking cared about them. Besides, they only did it half-heartedly.

"So, you're going to stay here then?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, I really don't have anywhere else to go." Bella replied.

"Besides to the chapel," Rosalie pointed out Bella's ring.

Alice squealed so loud that Elizabeth started crying from the noise. It shut Alice up pretty quickly.

Bella got up from her seat to try to calm down our daughter.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, but I'm just so excited. When did you propose, Edward, and where did you get that ring…it doesn't look like it came from Tiffany or Jared's. Please tell me you didn't get it from a gumball machine, although, it does look like a real diamond. Maybe they would accidently put in a real diamond ring…" Jasper shut her up by giving her a kiss that literally took her breath away.

"Thanks, Jazz." I nodded my head to him. "And to answer your question, Alice, I didn't get it at Tiffany's or Jared's; it's an old family heirloom that's been passed down from one daughter-in-law to the next." I looked at Bella who was rocking Elizabeth back and forth slowly. She had so much adoration in her eyes that I wanted to kiss her, but fucking couldn't because we had an audience.

Again the girls awed.

"Dude, have you always been this romantic? I always thought you had a stick in the ass." Emmett teased then got another swat from Rosalie.

"He's always been romantic in high school. We had to sneak around, but he always made the fear of getting caught worth it each time." Bella stuck up for me.

"Well, I do try." I said cockily.

"Yeah, he got it from my side of the family. Ok, so why don't we move into the living room for story time." Dad announced.

Indeed, we did have a story to tell. Bella and I sat on the loveseat while the others took up the couch, and dad was in his normal chair. Elizabeth was put on the floor between our legs with her toys.

"So how did you guys meet, was it love at first sight…?"

"Alice, we'll tell you everything if you just stay calm." I interrupted her before she could go off on another rant.

I looked to Bella silently asking her if she wanted me to start. She smiled, but shook her head slightly, she wanted to start.

"Well, to start off, my parents' divorced when I was a kid, but I was born in Forks then my mother moved us down to Arizona. She eventually married a minor league baseball player, Phil, when I was in high school, so I decided to move back to Forks to give them some privacy. They were still on their honeymoon phase which is more disgusting than it sounds." She visibly shuttered jokingly.

"I moved up to my dad's the last few weeks into the summer before our junior year started. Edward and I met at a party thrown by one of our classmates. A new friend of mine, Angela, talked me into it. Her father was the town minister, but she liked to act rebellious once in a while and dragged me to the party saying I needed to do the same thing."

"I went just because I was bored; I was the loner in high school." I interrupted.

"Anyways, Angela convinced me to do some shots with her. That was my first mistake of the night.

"I can't remember much after than until I ran into a drunken Edward." She smirked at me to which I had to hide my blush.

"Apparently, we danced a lot and kissed."

"Don't forget groped a bit." I chucked.

"I'm trying to keep this PG, you know, for our daughter's sake?" She raised an eyebrow at me. I just held up my hands in surrender. "Well, it didn't go any farther than that except we woke up in the backyard the next morning hung over and with me on top of him."

"Wait, I thought you said she swept you off your feet, dude?" Emmett demanded.

"Oh she did. I wasn't that drunk at the time when she ran into me, but my balance was a little off. So when I wasn't paying attention, here comes this brunette running down the hallway from her friend who was chasing her with a bottle of rum singing a pirates' life for me. Bella ran into me, knocking me down, but I still held onto her." I smiled at the memory. Bella was blushing.

"Yeah, and you never let me go after that." She giggled.

"Don't stop now, keep going." Alice huffed impatiently.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Bella to continue.

"The morning after the party we said we were sorry then ran away. We didn't talk at all during the summer. We did run into each other from time to time because Forks is a really small town, so it was practically a guarantee we would be at the same place at the same time.

"When school started we shared our first class, English, as well as Biology. In both classes we were partners, but we were still embarrassed by what had happened over the summer that we kept it quiet only speaking when necessary."

"Yeah, that lasted a while." I joked. Bella smirked and pointed me to explain. "The first project we had to work on in English was for Romeo and Juliet. To make it more interesting our teacher had groups act out each scene. Bella and I had to do the scene where Romeo and Juliet first met at the ball in front of entire student population." My smile showed how happy that fucking project made me in the end.

"I don't know what happened." I said with a shrug.

"Neither do I." Bella added shrugging as well.

"Well what, did someone have bad breath when you kissed?" Alice asked.

"No, we just didn't think that first kiss would be so intense. The air just crackled like there was electricity flowing through it every time we were near each other, and when we kissed it felt like kissing live wire only the burn was very…pleasant." Bella continued sounding like a poet. Again, I longed to kiss her.

"I wish I had some popcorn, this is better than that new vampire romance movie." Alice was jumping in her seat.

"But back to the story, my parents were always strict with me, demanding the best grades and such. The one thing they didn't approve of was me dating. They were a little old fashioned," I rolled my eyes at that which Bella ignored. "And Charlie, my dad, didn't like Edward or his father for some reason that I still don't understand."

"What?" The girls asked. The guys even had puzzled looks on their faces even though I've explained this to them.

"All Charlie would tell me is that they were city slickers who were lazy and rude like any other city dweller was, and that the people from places like Chicago and New York were the worst."

"Damn, that's messed up." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement even Bella and I.

"I know, but dad had always done well for the town, helping out to raise money for the community center and working with the Quileute's." I pointed out.

"Who," Rose asked.

"The people who live on the reservation just outside of Forks, I had friends there and so did Charlie."

"Did?" Jasper picked up.

"We'll get to that later, but let's finish this part up first." Dad piped up.

"So after the kissing scene we tried to ignore each other again, but that lasted for a week until I found Bella behind the gym during lunch crying."

"Oh no, what happened, Bella?" Alice gasped.

"A couple of girls were teasing me saying that Edward was talking behind my back. At the time I figured my dad was right about the Masen's, and when Edward found me we had a fight. I told him that he needed to stop playing with my emotions and that I didn't need the extra stress."

"And I told her that she was being overly sensitive about it." I jumped in. "Well, long story short, we verbally duked it out until we finally got so angry that we jumped each other."

"You got into a fist fight?" Alice asked.

"Who won?" Emmett asked.

Bella and I shared a smile. Our fight didn't end the way they were thinking.

"You kissed?" Alice asked shocked.

Bella and I nodded our heads.

"I don't remember how or why, but we just got so close to each other and we dove in. He pushed me back until I was pinned against the wall and we didn't stop till the bell rang for class." Bella said with a blush.

"Needless-to-say, we decided to stop fighting our feelings for each other. It took almost a month from that day before I had the nerve to ask her on a date."

The girls awed.

"We dated for months, but didn't tell my parents. I knew what they would say and possibly do if they found out." Bella said sadly looking down at a now sleeping Elizabeth who had curled up on the floor.

Carefully, I picked her up and she curled right into my chest.

"I approved of you two." Dad said making the tension dissipate.

"Thanks, dad," I rolled my eyes at him. "During the summer it was hard to stay together. Bella got a job working at the local outfitters store while I worked at my dad's office answering phones and delivering mail."

"Hey, you had to start somewhere." Dad chuckled.

"I wanted to work there too since it was my ultimate career goal to become a lawyer, but my parents didn't want me to work at Ed's office, and they didn't want me to become a lawyer either. They wanted me to be a teacher like my mom until I found a husband and become a housewife." Bella said with disgust.

"What, where are your parents from, the sixties?" Rosalie nearly shouted.

"Small towns still carry those traditions sometimes, especially in Forks where everyone knows everyone's business." Bella explained. "Before Edward, I would have taken that route just to make my parents happy, but now I don't give a damn." She whispered so Elizabeth didn't hear.

"How did you guys date? Didn't anyone see you?" Emmett asked.

"We had to be creative when it came to dates like taking a hike during the summer or hiding out on the beach." I said.

"Since I worked at the outfitters store I always told my parents that I was trying out some of the merchandise which was half true." Bella giggled with a shrug.

"We did try to go to Port Angeles a few times, but it was always so dangerous going as a couple. We had to go in groups so no one became suspicious."

"Angela and her boyfriend Ben were the only ones who knew about our secret relationship because they too were dating in secret. Her parents didn't want her to date a boy without a chaperone, so we just went out as a group of friends.

"We did find some nice, quiet areas that no one knew about so we brought take out and had a lot of picnics. It was a nice substitute."

"Oh, I'm so happy for you guys." Alice gushed.

"Now we're waiting for the bad part." Rose said.

"Shhh…I don't want to know about that." Alice said angrily.

"It has to happen, Alice, or else how did Edward not know about the baby until now?" Rose questioned.

Jasper pulled his girl back into his side; this was the sad point to our tale.

I looked at Bella who was looking over at Elizabeth.

"Do you want me to tell it?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, but yeah." She was looking a little uncomfortable. I figured that she needed to pump her milk since Elizabeth was asleep.

I reached over to kiss her then Elizabeth gently before Bella took her upstairs.

Dad also retreated into his study under the pretense that he had some work to do in preparation for tomorrow.

I took a deep breath to gather my thoughts.

"It was after the new school year had started; Bella and I had stopped working at our respectable jobs and were ready to focus on our senior year. I had turned 18 over the summer and Bella's birthday was right around the corner. I was trying to plan something special for her birthday.

"One day, Tyler and his friends were harassing Bella after gym. When I saw him reach out and grab her ass, I fucking lost it. I wailed on him no matter how many guys tried to pull me off. Normally Bella can calm me down, but I was so enraged to stop.

"I shouldn't have fought him, though, but I did and Charlie Swan ended up being the one to pull me off of Tyler. We were handcuffed and taken down to the station.

"The officers, including Charlie, were stupid as fuck. Half of the people who saw what happened were blaming me for starting the fight and the other half blamed Tyler. Charlie, though, blamed me and was going to charge me as an adult."

"What the fuck, dude, did Bella say anything?" Emmett nearly bellowed.

"Dude, keep it down." I seethed at him. "Yes, Bella did try to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. He figured that I poisoned Bella's mind somehow—he still had no idea we were dating, though. I was lucky that my dad had a friend, who's now his partner here in Seattle; he came to town to help us out.

"Charlie tried to kick up shit about it, but couldn't because the attorney was helping both Tyler and me while dad was able to secretly talk to Bella into filing sexual harassment charges against Tyler." I chuckled remembering Charlie's face.

"Chief Swan was mad as hell, but I'm fucking proud of Bella, she held her own even though he tried to get her to drop the charges. She didn't listen to him and with my squeaking clean record, I was released without bail."

"Damn, your girl is my hero." Emmett praised.

"Ditto," Alice shot up from her place and did a fist bump with Emmett.

I didn't tell them that she was mine too.

"Oh it got better for Tyler." I smiled smugly. "His record wasn't as clean as mine. He had charges from DUI's to another sexual assault that had been settled with the other party. I got a warning and he got a one way ticket to probation."

"Fucking sweet, man," Emmett nodded in approval.

"That's when things at school started to get worst. Tyler's friends would glare at us even though we kept our space during school hours. Somehow, someone figured it out our relationship and told the chief."

"Did you ever figure it out, Edward?" Jasper asked.

I nodded my head. "Bella and I figured it out when they led Charlie right to my place. It was two girls from school who we had thought didn't have the brains to put two and two together, Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory."

"The school whores." Rose echoed my thoughts; I nodded in reply trying to hold onto my temper.

"They always approached me for everything sex-related and belittled Bella every chance they got.

"I got locked up again, but there were no charges that could stick so I was out in a couple of hours. Dad was on a business trip for the weekend and came back to Forks when Bella called him to help.

"Charlie was so furious that his fucking deputies had to hold him back before he could kill me. That day was Bella's birthday too, and the day I was going to try to talk her into accepting my mother's engagement ring. My idea was that since she was now 18 she could move in with my dad and me, we would go to college like we'd planned and start our lives together.

"I didn't get the chance to talk to her before Charlie rammed through my front door and slapped handcuffs on me again.

"That night, I had to go see Bella again and so I took the trail through the woods behind my house that I knew so well to her house."

"When he looked through the window," I looked up when Bella came down the stairs and invited her to sit with me again. "Charlie was interrogating me on our relationship. I didn't even try to deny it since there was no point in covering it all up then. I tried to tell him that it wasn't any of his business and that Edward and his father were great men. Still, Charlie was too single minded to listen.

"Like a common criminal, he dragged me up to my room and locked the door from the outside. And that's when Edward climbed up the vine to rescue me." She smiled at me and I could see the unshed tears in her eyes.

"I wanted to leave with him, but couldn't knowing Charlie would hunt us down no matter where we went and make our lives miserable. We figured that Charlie would keep me under house arrest and that I could try to persuade him to change his mind. It turned out even worse than we thought. My birthday was the last night we saw each other and the last time we made love." Bella was starting to choke on her words so I took over for her.

"The next morning Charlie ordered her to pack her things and sent her back to her mother's in Phoenix without telling anyone, even using his position as Chief of Police to escort her onto the plane."

The girls had tears in their eyes and had cuddled up to their significant others.

"I thought my mom would listen to me, but she was just as closed-minded as Charlie was. I was put under house arrest and then later I found out I was pregnant. It wasn't long before Renee found out and I fought her to not get my baby aborted no matter how much she yelled at me.

"We moved to Jacksonville, Florida since Phil just got signed for the minor league there just after Thanksgiving and I was homeschooled for my senior year."

"My senior year was torture without you." I whispered into her hair so that only she heard me. Then spoke louder for everyone else. "The rest of the year, I felt like I was a ghost floating from point A to point B. Lauren and Jessica tried to pursue me, but quickly gave up when I finally snapped at them saying how they were diseased parasites no one wanted because they were too fucking disgusting both on the outside and inside. It probably didn't help me with Charlie, but I didn't give a fuck at the time.

"I didn't even go to prom, or any other parties, not even to my graduation ceremony. I had them deliver my diploma at this address because dad and I moved away as soon as I took my last final. I was even asked to be valedictorian, but I turned that down especially when I was told that I was second choice, Bella was their first."

"Me?" Bella looked up.

I chuckled once, "Yes, you. You worked so fucking hard for it." I told her.

"Oh my God, I can't…believe…that was all true?" Alice, for the first time that I knew her, was at a loss for words.

"Yes, all of it," Bella answered. "Renee dropped me off at the hospital when I went into labor. I gave birth to Elizabeth on June 20th at 4:49 in the afternoon without anyone in the room with me but the doctor and a couple of nurses."

"No shit." Rose swore.

"No shit," Bella confirmed with a slight giggle. "And I hate hospitals."

"Then how did you get here when you were across country?" Alice asked.

Bella wiped away the lone tear that managed to escape.

"Renee and I constantly fought when I came home from the hospital with Elizabeth. Even Charlie came down a few times, but never acknowledged his granddaughter. Only Phil was supportive during my pregnancy and with Elizabeth.

"Phil gave me some money and I ran away with Elizabeth to Olympia during the Thanksgiving rush. A family friend from the reservation near Forks came and picked me right under Charlie's nose. I lived on the reservation for a little while before I moved again to Seattle.

"I didn't know Edward or his dad were here until that night when you guys came into the diner. After that we talked on the phone some when I was able to call him and met back up the other day in the park." She finished.

Everyone was trying to process what they heard, but that wasn't even the end of it.

"Since Bella and Elizabeth have been on the run, Charlie has been using his influence with every cop in the state to find them. That's why the police have been swarming the city lately." I added.

"Did you have to work last night? We were going to go for ice cream again, but the cops turned us away saying that the diner was closed due to an arrest." Jasper asked.

"Yeah I did, but it was my last night. We figured that it would be too dangerous for me to work there so I was in the back office telling my employer that I quit when the police showed up. I went out the back way and called Edward to come pick me up." Bella answered.

"Charlie's been running the show. We've seen him in the city quite a few times already acting like he owns the fucking force." I pointed out.

"Man, you two got into some serious shit." Emmett commented.

"More like I have shitty parents," Bella grumbled. I had to laugh at her which she always hated. Yup, there's the glare.

"And your father is making the police force of Seattle shittier." Dad said coming out of his office.

"What do you mean?" Alice asked.

"Bella's father, I found out, has practically taken over the department to search for his daughter and now his granddaughter."

"What?" We all said at once.

"But he's never acknowledged Elizabeth. He's never even held her or been in the same room as her." Bella said.

"But no one knows that besides you, dear. Charlie's been claiming that his granddaughter has been kidnapped by her mother who is unstable." Dad continued.

"Holy fucking hell, he's pulling that when he should be locked up." I countered.

"I agree, son, and so do my friends at the station. They've been looking into your situation, Bella, but haven't found anything to suggest you're unstable."

"Thank God, but why has Charlie been fucking around like this with the cops at his beck and call?" Bella asked.

"My friends say that the badges aren't listening to their accusations because of my position as the man who's helped you runaway even though there is no proof of that."

"He's turning it into a witch hunt." Jasper concluded.

"Man, this is fucking messed up shit." Emmett got up and started pacing. "What about the mayor, is he going to be fucking doing anything about this shit?"

"The mayor has been out of town for a few days which is why the cops have been patrolling like they have." Dad answered. "Unfortunately, the mayor was also once a cop turned detective turned lawyer before he became a Politian. His ruling could go either way."

"Oh no," Bella mumbled into my shirt, I could also feel her tears soaking through to my skin.

"Don't worry, baby, I'll keep you both safe." I whispered into her hair. "Hey, I've got an idea."

I waited until Bella picked her head up so that I could see her beautiful, chocolate orbs even if they were flooded with tears.

"When Elizabeth wakes up, would you like to start on her room?" I asked.

"Really?"

"Yeah, we probably won't get the detailing done, but that can wait till next weekend. Today we can just work on the sky and ground…maybe the tree too." I smiled.

That earned a smile from her as well.

"I think that's a great idea."

"What's a great idea?" Alice asked.

Damn, I forgot they were there.

"Bella, dad, and I were going to paint the spare bedroom upstairs for Elizabeth this weekend…" I started.

"Oh, oh, oh," Alice clapped. "That's sounds like so much fun, I wish I brought my painting clothes though. Do you have enough paint or do we need to go to the store to get some? Oh, shopping, we can get some wallpaper to match the pink walls with…"

"No, Alice, no pink." Bella stated firmly.

Oh God, I can hear WWIII marching in.

"Why not pink, Elizabeth's a girl isn't she? Every little girl has a pink room, didn't you?" Alice retorted.

"Yes, but…"

"See, now let's…"

"Alice, I was going to say I had two pink rooms, but I always hated them. Besides, Edward and I already have a plan for Elizabeth's room."

"What is it?" Alice asked annoyed that her ideas were squashed.

"Well, if you're going to be like that, you won't be needed." Bella replied, dead serious.

"But…But…we just got here. We're your friends, I'm sorry for being so pushy, but can I please help? I promise to listen to you and only follow your directions after all you are Elizabeth's parents. Just please can I help?" She was practically groveling at Bella's feet.

Bella thought about it for a few seconds—pretended to at least—then nodded her head.

"Alright, but we'll only need you guys for this weekend, Edward and I want to finish the room ourselves as you've said, this is our daughter's room."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. Just show us the…Oh damn, I can't help today, I need my painting clothes. I can't get these clothes dirty, they're already a work of art." I swear to God, Alice is bipolar. "Jazz, let's go get changed and then we'll be back, is that ok?"

"Sure, there isn't much we can do until Elizabeth wakes up anyways." Bella agreed. "We'll call you when she's awake, so that by the time you guys get here we'll have a head start with moving stuff from the room."

"Oh perfect, Edward has our number so call us whenever." Alice pulled Jasper up and danced her way to the front door. Rose and Emmett followed shortly after.

When their car pulled out of the driveway I turned to Bella and asked her what she would like to do.

"Want to lie in bed?" She asked.

I nodded in agreement.

As soon as our heads hit the pillows, we were out for our own naps only to be woken up by someone crawling all over us.

Damn, I could get use to this.

"Hey, baby girl," I whispered softly since Bella was still sleeping next to me. "Did you break out of your crib so soon? You must be a daddy's girl because I did the same thing when I learned to walk."

Elizabeth just smiled and squirmed in my arms.

Knowing Bella, she would nag me about letting her sleep when there was work to be done. She was lying on her back so I allowed Elizabeth to straddle her mother's stomach. She then started to move up Bella's torso.

Bella began to stir from the weight then opened her eyes a smile graced her lips when she saw our daughter.

"Hello, you," She hoisted Elizabeth high over her head. "When did you get up?"

Elizabeth squealed as an answer which made Bella and I laugh along.

"We should get up and changed soon or else Alice will be over before we call and start ranting how late it's getting and there's so much to do, blah, blah, blah."

"I get it; do you want to hang out with grandpa for a little while, sweetheart?" Bella cooed to Elizabeth.

"Of course she does." Dad called from the hallway. He poked his head in the crack of the door. "Your pixie friend just called your cell, it was downstairs, but it just kept ringing so I picked it up. She said that if you didn't call her in the next fifteen minutes she threatened to bring pink paint."

"How about we lock the house up if she does?" Bella offered.

"She'll hate us." I explained. "But I know how much you hate pink so it could work."

"Good, now go call her and tell her not to bother with the paint before it's too late." She smirked.

God, I love this woman's wit.

Dad offered to take Elizabeth and call Alice back while Bella and I got ready.


	14. Chapter 14

I gave Bella one of my old t-shirts to wear and grabbed another for myself plus a pair of worn out jeans from the back of my closet. But when Bella lifted her shirt up, I couldn't help staring at her exposed stomach.

I noticed the stretch marks, three faint marks on either side of her belly proving that she did in fact carry our beautiful daughter.

She saw me staring and blushed as she pulled on the torn shirt quickly covering up her skin. I made my way in front of her in two strides then kneeled in front of her before pushing the shirt back up and nuzzled my face into her soft, flat stomach.

"Edward," She complained tugging lightly at my hair, I think she was trying to move me away, but her tugging was doing the exact opposite. "Please stop."

"Am I embarrassing you?" I asked against her skin.

"Yes." She replied timidly.

"I'm sorry, but you shouldn't be embarrassed." I looked up at her through my eyelashes. Her eyes were becoming hooded from the sight. "Love, you shouldn't be embarrassed about these." I nuzzled into her belly again, running my nose along the marks that marred her beautiful skin.

"They're ugly." She tried to protest.

I kissed each one as I answered. "No, they're beautiful," Kiss, "Like you," Kiss, "Like our daughter," Kiss, "I just wish I could have seen your belly rounded with Elizabeth. These marks will just have to do." I told her honestly caressing the lines.

She still looked embarrassed, but her eyes also held love.

"It's just hard to look at; I don't know if they'll go away…"

"I hope they don't." I protested, almost fucking whined. "But there's always the future." I said hopefully.

"What do you mean by that?" She questioned as I stood up.

"I can always get you pregnant again." I immediately dodged out of her striking range laughing.

She tried to glare, but amusement dominated her perfect features.

"But that will be way in the future, love." I came back to her holding her in my arms.

"Good to know, but we best hurry or else we'll have to deal with hurricane Alice." She gave me a quick kiss then fixed her shirt.

We go to work deciding to get a head start on moving and covering the furniture. There was only a dresser and bed in the guest room which wouldn't take too long to move. We had just covered the dresser and started dismantling the bed when dad greeted someone at the front door. By his friendly tone, I could tell it was the others. A few minutes later, they joined us and we got to work.

While the girls laid out the tarps and plastic that would cover the floor, the guys and I went to retrieve the paint and brushes.

I felt bad for Bella when we came back since Alice was talking up a storm about ideas on how the room should look and what kind of furniture we should get to match.

Bella's eyes were practically screaming at me to kill her or Alice.

I felt her pain since Alice did not stop at all once we started on the room.

"Alice, geez, since when did you become such an expert on baby furniture?" I asked her after she had been talking for nearly two hours.

"I just got my degree while you guys were taking a nap. You really did take a long, long, long time and I was bored. Jasper wasn't holding my attention, sorry sweetie, but seriously, I was bored and those two were in your room going at it like rabbits.

"Really, I would have thought you two would be more careful since we have a couple present who are teenaged parents. Please tell me you were being safe." Alice warned.

"First of all, Alice, it isn't your business to know, but yes we were being safe. Would you like to know the birth control I'm on so that you can check to make sure it's still effective or the brand of condoms Emmett used?" Rosalie retorted.

Jasper and Emmett were staying quiet just focusing on painting their section of the room. I felt bad for Bella as she hasn't gone through this before. Me, I was like the other guys, this hardly bothered me anymore.

"But the pill can only do so much, right Bella? Oh fuck, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's ok, Alice, really. There is that chance that the pill could fail. In all honesty, that's what happened between me and Edward."

I faltered with my work. Holy fucking hell, I didn't think of that. Bella had been on the pill when we were in high school, but I haven't asked her about it yet. We seriously need to sit down and talk about that before we take that extra step and soon. The sexual tension between us was starting to rise, not that we were once sexual fiends like Rose and Em, but we did enjoy a good romp or love-making session once in a while.

"Yeah, that was my thought exactly when Em wanted to have sex earlier. I told him he couldn't stick his dick in me unless it was wrapped up nice and tight." Rose said.

"Babe, if my dick was wrapped up any tighter, there would be no blood flowing through it to make it stand up. I'm surprised it did."

"Keep it wrapped, dude," I told him. "Think how your parents would react especially when you're this young and having a baby."

Bella and I were lucky to have my dad who was supportive of us. Her parents, on the other hand, went bat-shit-crazy and one had some pretty fucked up influence over the city's police.

"I know the Colonel wouldn't be so forgiving." Jasper said.

"My parents can barely stand me as it is. If I become pregnant that would send them over the edge." Alice fumed. It was no secret how much she hated her parents.

"My parents encouraged me to get knocked up so I could trap a King into marrying me. They didn't even want me on birth control saying it was against their religion or some shit. Fucking hypocrites, they don't go to church unlike me. I went every Sunday to ask God to take me away from them." Rose ranted.

"My ma would just love to have grandkids." Emmett smiled happily. "She told us so since we hit puberty."

"Your parents aren't the only thing you should think about; it's you and your partner. You two would have to be the primary providers for the kid, and sometimes, it can really test you too. I saw that so many times in the shelter." Bella said sadly.

I stopped painting and drew her into my arms.

"I would never leave you, no matter how many hardships we endure." I promised her.

She had her face buried in my shirt, so I didn't see if she believed my words or not. In truth, I figured Elizabeth wouldn't be all smiles and giggles like she had been since I met her. The one bad thing that made me question myself as a father thus far was giving her baths.

I knew there would be worst things like how was I or Bella—no doubt she'll press it—going to provide for Elizabeth. I had a trust fund that I had full access too, and Bella had both her savings as well as inheritance, but it wouldn't last forever especially with a baby and the education we needed to achieve our career goals.

"Well, I think we did a superb job, if I do say so myself." Alice hopped down from the ladder we found in the garage.

Everyone laughed at her when she turned around. She was covered in blue paint while everyone else was still clean even Bella, and normally she's the klutz with paint.

"What? I did this on purpose." She tried to protest, but it was an obvious lie. "Oh fine, the paint didn't want to be cooperative and decided to attack me." She pouted like a little girl.

It only made us laugh harder even Jasper had doubled over. Alice was not amused.

"I'm sorry, sugar, but please stick to drawing." He tried to calm himself down and failed, big time.

"Whatever." She stomped out of the room.

Jasper, being the good, whipped boyfriend he is, chased after her.

"Did we really hurt her feelings?" Bella asked, serious.

I wrapped my arms around her to reassure her and kissed her forehead for good measure.

"No, Bella, Alice just likes the attention she gets from Jasper." I answered.

"In that case you better go find them before they find a room. They've been playing this game since mid-terms ended." Rose explained.

Releasing Bella, I ran after the two lovebirds trying to figure out where they went off to. It didn't take me too long before I heard some knocking against the door down the hall, thankfully, my room was on the other end of the hall.

"Hey," I pounded on their door. "Don't make me get the hose."

"Dammit, Edward," Alice yelled.

Jasper groaned on the other side, probably trying to calm down after being so worked up.

"Put your snake away, cowboy, and save it for the dorms." I chuckled.

Normally Jasper is a very calm guy, but that goes out the window when it involves sex, otherwise he gets very angry when cockblocked.

They came out of the room disheveled as well as pissed off at me, but they'd get over it. Alice would be horny this week and next would be Rosalie's turn.

_Hmm, wonder when Bella's going to be horny. _

Damn it to fucking hell, I really don't need to be thinking of that now. I blame my sex-crazed friends.

"Is that all we need to do tonight?" Alice asked Bella clearly ignoring me.

"Yeah, we'll have to wait until the top coat dries before we add in the flowers, but that will take about a day at most." Bella answered.

"Can you wait until next weekend for us? I want to do some more painting." Emmett almost bounced around.

Bella laughed at him then turned towards me.

"Do we have any plans next weekend?" She asked.

I scratched my head thinking. "No, and the Monday after that weekend starts Spring Break. We should think of what we want to do that week."

"Hot damn, I fucking forgot." Emmett was panicking. "Ma demanded that I bring Rosie back to Tennessee to show her off to the family again. Babe, we need to go now and buy the tickets." He tried to rush his girl out of the room, but Rose had some muscles and stayed grounded.

"Em, your mother called me yesterday to talk about that. Our tickets are already reserved for Saturday night, but we aren't staying the whole week." She told him.

"Why not," Jasper asked.

Emmett chuckled. "Dude, I've told you about my family. My brothers are coming with their women, and the cousins are coming too. We have to visit in shifts, ma likes this way better so she's not lonely all the time."

"And please do something about Demetri and Felix, I don't want them hitting on me anymore." Rose demanded.

"I thought you can take care of yourself, princess." I chuckled which earned a glare from her, but I'm use to the ice queen.

"I'm thinking of their protection and for their future." She answered. "Last time was the first time I visited and they each earned a crack nut and bruised eyes."

"Wasn't easy too, my bros are built like me, but ma and Rosie can hold their own." Emmett beamed proudly at his girlfriend.

"Your mother beat up her sons?" Bella's jaw dropped.

"Well, when you have three ape-like sons how else are you going to keep them in line?" Rose smiled.

"My sister and I were easier; our parents just gave us credit cards at eight and told us to have fun." Alice grumbled.

"At eight," Bella exclaimed. "Isn't that a little young?"

"Yeah, but it was like getting an allowance and sending us into a candy store." Alice explained rolling her eyes. "My parents never really wanted kids, so my sister and I were just sent off with the nannies and tutors until we turned eighteen. They would pay for college and everything else until we found our own careers."

"Oh." Was all Bella could say.

"Don't worry about it," Alice shook her head and smiled. "I'm glad to be away from them and with Jazzy here."

"And I'm glad to be away from my sisters...too much frill and frou-frou in our house growing up." Jazz shuttered.

"How did that happen, man, it was only the colonel raising you lot?" Emmett asked.

"The colonel," Bella questioned.

"My dad, my mom died after having the triples, my sisters…and he raised us differently. They got the nannies to teach them about the girly shit while I went to pre-k boot camp."

"So how long were you bald for?" Emmett joked.

Jasper gave him the stink eye, he hated anyone who made fun or even touched his hair—with the exception of Alice.

"Till after I had my first kidney surgery." He sneered.

"What happened?" Bella asked, concerned.

Jasper turned to her, apparently happy for her sincerity.

"One of the guys in high school freaked out. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up with a sharpened spoon in my gut. The doctors patched it up, but it's weak so I'm not eligible for the recruitment."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Bella ran up to him and hugged him. I guess those maternal instincts don't have an age limit.

"It's ok, as much as I wanted to go into the army, I'll be just fine working with traumatized soldiers."

"And if he did go then he would have kept me waiting longer." Alice added in mock seriousness.

"I'm sorry, ma'am." Jasper drawled. "But the colonel wasn't very happy his only son couldn't follow in his footsteps, he pretty much gave up on me and turned towards one of my cousins."

"Damn, parents are so cruel." Rose sneered.

"Not all of them are like that, Rosie." Emmett beamed most likely thinking about his own mother.

"He's right, Rose, I just wish I got the bunch that didn't see their children as mistakes." Alice fumed.

Bella was lost in thought with sorrow written all over her face.

"Excuse me," She said, "I need to go check on Elizabeth."

It was a ruse; the conversation over neglected vs. loving parents had taken its toll on her. Her pain was building up.

I excused myself as well knowing that the others were going to be leaving soon and followed Bella. My bedroom door was partially closed which was not how I remembered leaving it. Bella was sitting on the edge of the bed cradling Elizabeth's tattered doll with silent tears streaming down her face.

"I don't know what is worst, having parents that don't care about their children or parents who care too fucking much." She said in a low voice.

She needed to vent, and so I just sat next to her and stayed silent.

"I made this doll for Elizabeth after the doctor told me what I was having. Renee had tons of fabric and crafts lying around in the attic so I worked on this every night after she went to bed for a week. During the day, I hid it because Renee would trash any baby stuff she would find around the house.

"After Elizabeth was born, I placed the doll next to her and she seemed fascinated by this ugly rag doll, and when she became more mobile, she would hang onto it like it was a part of her.

"Two weeks before we left, Renee came home early and saw Elizabeth sleeping next to the doll; she got angry and snatched it away from her. Elizabeth's cry made me run into the room. I tried to reason with Renee, but she wouldn't listen. Eventually, it turned into a screaming slash tug-of-war match ending with the doll torn."

I held her close just wishing for her pain to go away.

"It became clear to me right then and there that my parents only cared about the control they had over me and how badly they wanted to keep that. It's not a life I would want for my daughter, our daughter.

"This doll was easy to fix after Renee threw the pieces across the room, but the relationship with my parents, I don't think I can ever fix that. There are too many torn pieces and I'm tired of constantly trying to mend them."

"What are you saying, love?" I asked. "They're your parents; don't you think they could come around one day?"

"No, Edward, how do you think I got my stubborn streak? I get that they want me to have a good life, but a strict plan is never fully followed and they just can't see that. They've factored in what could make someone happy and successful, but didn't factor in me and what I wanted to be happy.

"I'm so fucking tired of it and them. I want them out of my life, our lives including Elizabeth's." She said with such authority, but I had to question it.

"Bella, what if Elizabeth gets older and starts to ask questions about her grandparents? My dad will be the only grandparent she would know, but when she goes to school and learns that a kid can have multiple grandparents she'll come to us asking questions."

"We tell her the truth that my parents are fucking bitches who dictated how their daughter should live out her life. No, not live, to simple exist." She answered.

"Well, not in so many words." I tried to joke, but she wasn't in the mood.

"We will tell her when she asks and if she wants to seek them out she can, but not until she knows the truth."

"She could think you're a little biased." I reasoned.

"They're my fucking parents; of course I'm going to be biased. But I'm going to tell her the truth—every single piece of it."

"But what if she asks you if there were any positives about your parents, what would you say?"

She was quiet, thinking about her answer.

"Renee and I did have a pretty good relationship when she wasn't drilling into my head about my future; we could talk about anything and we went on so many adventures collecting refrigerator magnets as souvenirs." She laughed. "Charlie, I remember, would take me fishing and to the reservation trying to teach me to be more outdoorsy. I hated it, but enjoyed just being with him. It's hard to say when it all changed, but I just remembered meeting you and it felt like the door was opened from the closet I was locked in. You were the key." She smiled.

I chuckled at her analogy. "And you were my sanity. I felt like there was a hole in my heart that no one was able to fill and you healed most of it. You understand that, right?"

"Yes, on the outside you are a strong, caring man, but inside, you are a little boy who misses his mother so deeply."

"And you're that fierce woman who had been forced to grow up quickly, but inside, you're still that little girl trying to break out of that shell she was forced into."

"We keep talking about this." Bella said after a short pause.

"That's probably because we haven't finished it yet."

"Do you think we ever will?" She leaned her head against my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her small frame.

"No way in hell." I answered.

By the time we made our way out of the room, the others were downstairs getting ready to leave. Bella tried to apologize to everyone about making them feel unwelcomed, but they all brushed her off.

After they left, we ate dinner that dad had prepared, and, all-in-all, it was an uneventful night.


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning, I had to leave for school and dad had work leaving Bella and Elizabeth alone for most of the day. It went against my instincts to walk out the door as Bella all but shoved me through. With one last kiss from both my girls, dad and I got into his car since my car was still parked on campus.

"They'll both be there when you come pick them up later." Dad tried to pacify me.

I refrained from flipping him the bird and just rolled my eyes at the passenger side window. I could tell he was also trying to reassure himself too and that fight the urge to turn around…I was feeling the same way.

Too soon, we arrived back to campus. We had left the house early to give me time to gather my things for class, what I didn't count on was Newton still in the room. I fucking forgot none of his classes started before noon and it looked like he hadn't been awake for very long.

"Where have you been?" He asked sleepily.

"That's none of your fucking business, asshole." I muttered as I gathered my shit together.

As I was walking to the door, I caught him looking at me, no, more like studying me.

I was in no mood for one of our fights so I just showed him my middle finger while walking out the door.

"Fuck you, Masen." He yelled before the door shut.

I quickly put him out of my head as I made my way to my first class.

As usual, it was boring as fuck, but even worst since I was thinking about Bella and Elizabeth most of the time. Normally daydreaming for me would make Father Time move faster, but today, he was moving his fucking hands too damn slow for my liking.

Thankfully, the professor didn't ask me any questions. I guess he somehow figured out that I was a short fucking fuse today. Seriously, I just wanted to go home already.

The dickhead of a professor lets us out a few minutes late and I nearly ran to my next class. Firstly, the class is across campus and I usually have to speed walk to get there on a normal day, and secondly, I just want to get this over with so that I can go home to my family.

My family…God, I love the sound of that.

I should be with them now, making breakfast with my woman…my fiancée and getting our daughter ready for the day. I've already lost enough time with both of them, I shouldn't, no; I fucking can't lose any more time with them. Especially with my baby girl, I've already missed her birth, her first smile and laugh, and the first time she crawled. What if she takes her first steps today or says her first word?

Stopping in my tracks, I turn the other way back to my dorm. The professor in my next class post the stupid lectures online and they are directly from the book anyway...lazy bastard.

Thank fucking God Newton wasn't in the room when I stomped in, but Emmett was.

"Hey dude," He greeted, "You're home early, honey." He teased.

"Shut it, man." I was trying to be civil to him even though I was on edge, but the guy never knows when to keep his mouth shut.

"What's the matter, Eddy-boy, did you get switched by the schoolmarm today?" He had the nerve to laugh.

"Your ice queen needs to teach you some fucking manners." I mumbled because apparently I have no filter either.

"What did you say, Masen?" He stood up from his bed towering over me. I was already at six foot two, but Emmett still had another good two to three inches over me.

I closed my eyes to take a breath. I knew I was being irrational and my anger shouldn't be directed at one of my best friends.

"Sorry, Em, just got a lot on my mind, and I don't want to go to my last class today."

I heard him take a breath too before replying. "I get it, Edward, really. Your family is dealing with shit, but don't take it out on your friends, bro."

"Yeah, man, I know. Thanks for forgiving me; it's just been hectic back at the house." He shot me a glare. "Ok, so I've been stressed out."

"Ya think?" Was his brilliant reply. "I get that you just found your girl and now you have a baby—not on the way—but think, man, it could have been worst."

"I don't want to go there, Emmett." I warned. "I already missed so much in Elizabeth's life and I don't want to lose any more time."

"So what? Are you going to drop out of school to be a full-time dad at the prime age of 20?"

I melted onto his bed next to him and buried my face in my hands.

"That thought, surprisingly, hasn't crossed my mind, and if it did Bella would demand that I continue going to school. Then she and I would be arguing over her giving up her education to take care of Elizabeth while I'm in school."

He whistled long and low. "Sounds like it would cause more drama."

I chuckled. "Yeah, Bella has always had to sacrifice herself for the sake of others and if I try to do that for her she would just keep up the arguments until one of us won."

"Who usually did?" He asked chuckling with me.

I gave him a pointed look.

"Yeah, I get it. I always relent to Rose even if I believe I'm right, but really, she's always right."

"Imagine that." I teased snickering.

Emmett punched my bicep while smiling.

"Go, man, be with your family. Send pics of my little niece though, and soon or else you're going to have an evil sprite on your hands."

"Yeah, and I have a feeling that she is going to cause a few fights coming up soon." I huffed thinking about how Bella and Alice had clashed.

"And I thought Alice could make friends with anybody." Emmett thought out loud as I packed my things.

"She can, it's just that Bella is trying to take charge of her life after being controlled for years, and Alice needs to back off a bit."

"Try telling her that."

"I'm hoping she would have learned that after butting heads with Bella over the weekend."

"From what I've learned from Alice—and I'm sure you know this too, man—she is as stubborn as a mule, and I'm willing to bet Bella is too. I wish you and Jasper all the luck with those two." He chuckled.

I made a face thinking about that. Great, one more thing I have to put on my stress list.

"Promise me something, though." I said.

"And what would that be?" He asked.

"You and Rosalie need to be around for babysitting duty." I bargained.

He thought about it—or pretended to, at least—before nodding his head enthusiastically. Emmett was a big kid himself at heart and Rose loved kids, so it was an easy decision for him. Plus, I trusted them to keep my daughter safe. Nothing could get pass that grizzly bear and his ice queen.

I waved bye as I grabbed my packed bag and walked out of the dorms. I had decided that I was going to commute to school every day in order to stay close to my family. Although the university's rules require that all freshmen have to live in the dorms for the year, I'm going to stay during the day; so technically, I'm not breaking any rules by having two homes…sort of.

Taking the back roads and actually driving the speed limit really pushed the limits of my patience. When I finally pulled into the driveway, everything I had felt today…the stress, anger, and worry…melted away especially when I looked in through the kitchen window. Bella was sitting in front of Elizabeth making her smile and giggle as she fed her. In that moment, I was only feeling one emotion, love.

With a spring in my step, I went through the side door that led to the kitchen eager to greet my girls.

"Well, look whose home." Bella sang to Elizabeth who was in the middle of a giggle fit.

"Yup, I got out of class early." I lied through my teeth. Bella had on a big ass smile, but I could tell by the look in her eyes that she wasn't fooled. She knew I had skipped.

To distract her, I grabbed her and kissed her passionately like in those fucking chick-flick movies where the main dude bends his woman back and kisses her with as much passion as he can muster. Its cliché, but it appeared to have worked. I also added in an 'I missed you two' for good measure.

Bella looked dazed as I set her up right, but that only lasted for a minute or two.

Damn, I must be out of practice.

With one final peck from Bella she moved away from me to the fridge.

"Are you hungry?" She asked as she bent over looking inside and giving me a nice view of her ass, by the way.

"I'll have whatever you're having, love." I told her tearing my eyes away from her ass to my daughter who was covered in mush. I chuckled at the sight and pulled out my phone to take a picture of her…she really was too cute for words.

"How does a turkey and cheese sandwich sound?" Bella called.

"Should I make up some soup to go along with that?" I asked while cleaning up Elizabeth.

"No, babe, we need to leave soon anyways." She reasoned, but from the sound of her faltering voice she was hiding something.

"Bella, were you planning on eating before I came home?" I asked.

"Um…" She answered.

After rolling my eyes and giving Elizabeth her toys, I got up to prepare the soup.

"Edward," Bella tried to chide me as I pulled out a can of tomato soup.

"Bella," I said in the same tone, "you need more calories, love. Did you even eat breakfast this morning?"

This time she was silent.

Running my hands over my face and into my hair, I turned on the stove to let the soup heat up and then said I would be back.

Making my way to the upstairs bathroom, I grabbed the scale and jogged back down.

Bella was confused when I walked in, but then became angry when she saw what I had in my hand.

"Edward," She started, but I cut her off.

"Bella, when was the last time you were weighed?" I asked seriously. It reminded me of the last time I did this to her after she fainted in the school's parking lot. She was underweight then and I feared that she was even worst now.

"Not since after I had Elizabeth at my last doctor's appointment." She answered with an attitude. I didn't take it personally, I knew I was talking down to her, but this was the only way to get through to her.

"How old was Elizabeth?" I asked.

"About six weeks." She answered.

"How much weight did you drop by then?" I inquired setting the scale down in front of where she stood.

"Ten pounds, which the doctor said was normal and healthy." She defended.

"Alright, get on." I commanded softly.

"Edward, I…"

"No, Bella, get on the scale."

She hesitated for a moment before stepping on the scale avoiding looking down. I did though. The scale said that she came in just shy of a hundred pounds. I released my breath and helped her down.

"Satisfied?" She whispered, it was supposed to be clipped, but it was soft as if she was nervous.

"Truthfully, yes, at least it's better than what you were in high school." I told her careful to not reveal the numbers.

"Yeah, I read that it's hard to keep off weight after a pregnancy."

"How much did you gain when you were pregnant?"

"Thirty five pounds, which the doctor didn't really approve of since I'm so small in the first place, she worried that when it came time to deliver Elizabeth might be too big for me to push out naturally, but I did it." She smiled slightly obviously proud of herself.

I was proud for fighting and delivering our daughter, but I did feel guilty because I wasn't there for her at her hour of need.

"Well, women who have had babies might have a hard time losing the weight, but you didn't. You lost it all and then some, that's the weight you're going to gain back."

"I'm under?" She asked confused.

Damn, she thought she was overweight.

Pinching the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger I sighed in frustration.

"Yes, sweetheart, and we need to get you better starting now." I said firmly leaving no room for discussion.

"Sir, yes, sir," She sarcastically replied then turned to sit in her chair.

I hated that I had to be so hard on her, but with Bella, that was the only way to make her listen and she knows it, her stubbornness just makes her retaliate before thinking about herself.

In other words, it makes her wonderfully selfless, but can leave her incredible vulnerable at the same time.

I allowed her the space she needed, just a little cool off time as I finished plating the food.

We ate in a tense silence, she was holding onto that anger even though we both knew it was stupid and futile. Thankfully, Elizabeth was ignoring the elephant in the room and continued to play with her beat up rag doll.

After eating, I quickly grabbed all the plates and went to the sink. Bella was hot on my heels and pushed me away as she started to load up the dishwasher, but I wasn't budging from the task at hand. She huffed under her breath and walked back over to Elizabeth.

"We really need to go now or else we'll be late." She said.

"I'm ready whenever you are, love." I replied giving her my infamous crooked smile.

My smile did the trick, the anger in her eyes lessened and a small returning smile appeared on her heavenly face.

"Let me change Elizabeth, her bag is all set and by the front door."

"I'll take care of it, hurry up or we'll be late, Swan." I playfully scolded her.

She gave a mock glare and that's when I knew our fight was over…for now. I could guarantee that the topic will come back up soon.

It was another fifteen minutes before we were all strapped in the car and on the road. I was so damn paranoid about driving Elizabeth for the first time that I kept my speed five miles under the limit. Bella never said anything about it, but she would look over her shoulder every few minutes to check in on Elizabeth. I would've done the same thing, but I was concentrating on the road more than usual.

Because we didn't head out of the house early enough, I had to drive the straight path to the doctors. It was a risk in case we were being followed, but we didn't have a choice. Plus, this morning dad told us that the mayor was back in town so hopefully Chief Swan's intense city search will stop. Bella looked so relieved to hear the news, but we know we shouldn't throw caution to the wind just yet. Charlie wasn't just one man anymore, according to dad most of the cops in this part of the city had sided with him. He had followers just like Jesus fucking Christ leading his flock.

Twenty minutes later, Bella directs me to Northwest Hospital and Medical Center. If I wasn't so attune to Bella, I wouldn't have noticed how scared she was of this place.

"Ready, love?" I spoke quietly after I had parked the car.

"Yes, I'm fine, Edward." She tried to reassure me, but her voice was slightly shaken.

Grabbing her hand I raised it to my lips and gave it a soft kiss.

"I'm with you all the way, Bella, the both of you, now and forever." I told her.

She smiled and leaned into me. I met her halfway and united our lips briefly only because we had a little girl in the backseat who needed her checkup.

Bella pushed the stroller while I kept my arm around her waist. We were leaning into one another for comfort. Elizabeth, however, was babbling to her favorite doll. Bella told me that that doll can keep Elizabeth's attention occupied for hours on end and is like her security blanket when she is in need of more comfort. It makes me feel slightly jealous that I have competition, however, this morning Elizabeth shared the doll with me as if it was her way of telling me she loves me. Unfortunately, Bella had to kick me out of the front door for school right then or else I was going to skip it.

Well, at least she did get me to go to one class.

We made it to the pediatric center, and I still my physical connection on Bella as we checked in at the receptionist desk and sat down.

Elizabeth was getting squirmy in her seat.

As I started to unbuckle her Bella stopped me.

"She won't stop even if you hold her, Edward." She said in my ear. "She wants to be put down, but she'll get into everything if we allow that."

I understood her reasoning, I told her that, but I also voiced that she was being a worried mother hen and that I would watch Elizabeth closely.

She gave me a disbelieving look before nodding her head.

Elizabeth was so happy when I picked her up and carried her to the little play area.

Damn, I should have listened to Bella.

Once I turned her loose, Elizabeth was a tornado pulling down toys and would then be off again when something else caught her attention. Originally, I didn't think it would be this bad, but that was because I had yet to see her pull herself up to tables and shelves.

I was excited the first time I saw her do that, but that was short lived when I started running after her to try stopping the avalanche that nearly fell on top of her.

I'm pretty sure I could hear Bella giggling from across the room. I would have checked if I wasn't trying to keep my eye solely on Elizabeth. If I tore my eyes away from her for more than five seconds, she would disappear.

Thankfully, her name was called after we had been at this for fifteen minutes. The receptionist was giving me a dirty look as we walked past her most likely, I think, she was the one who would pick up the room when the day was over.

I had been right about Bella laughing at me. I gave her the stink eye while trying to deny that she was right. She gave me a smug smile and hugged our little devil close to her chest.

The nurse led us into an examination room. Bella looked around the room in slight panic while Elizabeth was looking around for new things to get into.

"The doctor will be in in a moment, please undress her down to her diaper. Do you have an extra blanket, the rooms are quite cold today." The nurse asked, she was an older woman who seemed genuinely concerned for our daughter's well-being.

"Yes, we brought one. Can't be too prepared, right?" Bella answered.

The nurse agreed then said the doctor would be right in before closing the door behind her.

"Edward, could you grab the blanket, I think it's on the bottom of the bag." Bella said starting to undress Elizabeth.

"Sure," I did as she asked then helped her wrap up Elizabeth.

Bella sat down and I handed Elizabeth her favorite doll before joining them.

"So, what are our plans for this week?" Bella spoke up.

"Uh, besides me trying to catch up with my fiancée and daughter while dealing with the boring life that is college, nothing much." I joked.

"Funny," She replied sarcastically, but amused, "no big projects for the end of the semester that you need to start working on?"

"No, I have final exams for every class this semester. Do you two have anything else that needs to be done this week?" I asked back.

"I need to make an appointment with my advisor at school. She's been helping me get into the university."

"Do you think it's safe?" I asked worry probably edged on my face.

She looked down at our squirming baby before answering.

"I am worried about Charlie finding me, but I can't go through life looking over my shoulder for him. Even with Elizabeth, I want to live my life and that includes completing my education and career goals."

I hugged her close. "Tell you what, when we start school next fall, how about I go part time and look after Elizabeth while you go full time."

She pushed back from me and looked pissed off.

"Edward, I can't let you do that."

"Remember, love, I said that some of my credits from high school transferred. Plus if I take summer courses I can finish early. I was going to finish early anyways by half a year, and with the summer courses I could graduate earlier than I thought."

"Edward," She whined.

Our fight would have continued, but there was a knock at the door that interrupted us followed by a blonde man who walked in with a warm smile.

"Hello, Bella, Elizabeth, it's wonderful to see you both again." The blonde man must be the doctor. He looks a bit young to be a doctor, and a bit too good looking which makes my feathers ruffle. "And you must be Edward, my wife Esme told me about your party. I am sorry you had to leave the center too soon, Bella, but I am glad at the same time that you found love again."

"Thanks, Carlisle, I was so fortunate for Edward. To tell you the truth I was a little sad about leaving the center, but at the same time, I keep thinking that my now empty room will help some poor woman who needs it more than I do." My girl replied.

"How very noble of you, Bella. I can see why you are so entranced by her, Edward." He addressed me.

"You have no idea." I muttered truthfully.

"Well, I'm glad that you two found your happy ending. Why don't we get on with the rest of the appointment?" Carlisle said.

"Will this be a quick check up?" Bella asked.

"I'm sorry, dear, but Elizabeth is in need of her immunizations. Believe me, I do not like this part of my job, but it is a necessity for her to be healthy." He reassured us, but I was feeling weary like Bella.

Bella looked up at me, and I had to put on my bravado mask. She needed one of us to be strong.

A different nurse than before came strolling in with a tray in her hands filled with three pre-filled needles.

"Here you are, Dr. Cullen, will there be anything else I can help you with?" She asked him and you could hear the flirting undertone in her voice.

"No, thank you, Jane," He dismissed her without even glancing her way.

Childishly, she pouted then walked out the door defeated.

"I'll check over everything first; weight, eyes, ears, and such then I'll give her the shots at the end." He explained.

Bella and I nodded, but neither one of us were ok with Elizabeth getting the shots for her to be subjected to this pain was against our instincts.

Thankfully, Dr. Cullen entertained our daughter by talking to her and making her laugh. It sort of eased our worry…ok that's fucking shit, our worry wouldn't be eased until this appointment is over and forgotten.

"Everything looks great." The doctor finally announced when he was done.

Bella perked up a bit while I wrapped my arms securely around her. We knew what was coming next.

"Would you two like to hold her still while I administer the vaccinations?" He asked holding Elizabeth.

Bella bit her lip indecisively.

"I'll do it." I said. I wasn't squeamish about needles and blood unlike Bella.

"Edward," Bella pulled on my shirt warning me. "You don't need to do this. I can do it."

"It's my turn, love." I kissed her lips sweetly not caring about the doctor in the room.

Elizabeth giggled and smiled when I picked her up. She was turning into a daddy's girl alright.

"Just hold her leg still so I can stick in the needles." He said quietly.

I nodded my head and looked down at my daughter who was looking back up at me.

"Hey, little bit, you're being a good girl for the doctor. What should we do when we get home? Huh? How about we help mommy with dinner tonight? I think she'll like that. Then maybe afterwards you can help daddy with his homework. Ok, that sounded fu…uh…strange."

"It did, but it would for any young parents juggling school, work, and raising a daughter." Carlisle laughed. "All done down here."

"Really," I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, you successfully distracted her and I got all three vaccinations in her."

"Bella, did you…" I turned towards my girl to find her slumped back in the chair with her eyes closed and breathing shallow.

Fucking hell, I should have seen that coming.

The doctor was quicker than me, but I had to wrap up Elizabeth in her blanket first.

"Edward, does Bella have a history of fainting?" He asked.

"Only when there's blood or needles involved, she passed out a few times in our high school biology class when we did blood typing and dissections. She always came back after a few minutes." I answered.

"I don't see any head trauma…oh, she's coming back. Bella, are you alright, dear?" He asked her when she was starting to come to.

"Wha…what happened? Is Elizabeth alright?" She mumbled.

I rolled my eyes, of course when we're concerned for her she is concerned for others.

"Yes, Bella, Elizabeth is done and looks as healthy as a horse." Carlisle answered.

"That's because she eats like one." Bella joked.

"That's good, but how are you feeling, dear?" Carlisle asked again.

"I'm fine," She started to say, but I gave her a look. "Just a little dizzy, but I'll be fine."

I rolled my eyes at her, but didn't push the issue.

"Wonderful, also, are you still nursing Elizabeth?"

"Yes, but I have introduced cereal and baby food into her diet. She's taken with them pretty well."

"Excellent, I would imagine that it would be possible to start wean her now. Go from the breast to a bottle for a short time then move on to giving her a Sippy cup."

"She does take a bottle sometimes when I'm not home to feed her, should we still give her breast milk in the cup or regular milk and juice?"

"Give her the breast milk in the bottle and a little in the cup, but then move onto the regular milk shortly after she gets the hang of the cup. Remember to use regular, whole milk it'll help with her development. No fat free or anything less than 2% before she's two. Do either of you have any more questions at this time?"

We shook our heads, but fuck was this a lot to remember.

"Alright then, everything looks great for the both of you, and please make an appointment with Esme, Bella, she's been pestering me all morning to remind you of that."

"She will." I answered for her knowing that making the appointment wouldn't be on Bella's priority list.

"One final thing though, since you aren't apart of Jubilee anymore, you will have to get new insurance. I can provide you a list of insurance companies that this office will take if that will be acceptable to you."

"Well…" Bella looked up at me for help. I suddenly came up with an idea.

"Bella and I can probably be dependents on my dad's insurance as well as Elizabeth without any problems. Just a temporary thing until we can get jobs with benefits ourselves." Like Bella, I didn't want to be so dependent on my dad for everything, but I don't think we'll have a choice for a while.

"If you would ask the receptionist at the desk to send you the information for changing your insurance plan, I can assure you that it wouldn't be very difficult to do so." He explained.

"Thank you, Carlisle, for everything." Bella said slowly getting up.

Carlisle and I rushed to help her only to be pushed away and given the stink eye.

"You're welcome. Just remember to make that appointment with Esme, and one for Elizabeth with me in about three months."

"Will she need any more shots?" I asked.

"I'm afraid so, but that should be the last for a while especially since she'll be a year old by then After that we can stretch it to once a year until she's five years of age."

"That long?" I gasped.

"It's required by centers and then later by the school boards for when she begins pre-school and later kindergarten."

Wow, didn't know that, but that meant four more years of this torture for Elizabeth and Bella.

"Just as long as she's kept healthy and happy," Bella said with an air of uncertainty.

"Stay positive, you two, and everything will work out fine. Well, I must be off; I have more patients that I need to see."

"Thanks again, Carlisle." Bella called as he walked out the door.

He nodded his head in answer then closed the door behind him.

"How do you really feel, love?" I asked while starting to redress Elizabeth.

"Really, Edward, I'm fine." She tried to help, but I kept brushing her hands away.

"Either way, love, we'll stop by the convenient store and pick you up something sweet. Knowing you, you will be stocking up pretty soon." I chuckled.

"Funny, Masen. Let's just get going so that I can make that appointment."

"And yours too, Swan." I scolded playfully.

After bundling, buckling, and packing up Elizabeth and her things—while not allowing Bella to help—we were finally ready to go.


	16. Chapter 16

**Excuse the tardiness of this chapter, however, this little Alice has been falling down the rabbit hole for a few weeks now. Normally my depression is countered by my creativity, but my inspiration has eluted me in almost every creative thing I can think of. Forgive me and accept this chapter with my humble apologies. See you all soon with the next chapter as soon as I can. **

Bella had no problem stopping at the receptionist desk to set up Elizabeth's next appointment, but I had to get her to steer her towards the gynecologist to make her appointment. Of course, I was a little self-conscious about being there, but I focused on Bella's need which made the experience no so bad as it seemed.

Afterwards, we left and Elizabeth had fallen asleep in her carrier as we snapped it into the base.

"Does she normally sleep after a doctor's appointment?" I asked after we had been driving in silence for ten minutes.

"Yeah, but then later she wants to cuddle even though she'll be cranky." Bella answered.

"I can understand that. How are you feeling, though?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "For the last time, Edward, I'm fine. I don't need any sugar…"

"Yes, you do. Remember in high school, the first time you fainted when we were doing blood typing? You refused to allow the nurse to excuse you from school and went to gym instead. Don't you remember passing out on the track after running it twice?"

"Yeah, I remember humiliating myself and got a lecture from both parents for not taking care of myself when the school called them." She never told me that.

"Take care of yourself? Did they agree that you should have taken the excuse from the nurse?"

"Actually, the lecture was on how I should take care of myself because I'm old enough to do so and if I don't then people would think I've turned into an anorexic."

"Hold the fucking phone. Did you say that you made them look bad for fainting twice in one day at school?" I asked flabbergasted. God, they were more fucked up then I thought.

"Yeah, about everything I did was reflected on them or so they would tell me. Charlie took me to the diner that night and made me eat three desserts by myself. You know those huge cakes and pie slices they serve, those plus berry cobbler." She huffed. "I couldn't even sleep that night because of the sugar high I was on. I thought I became a diabetic from eating that load."

"Fuck, I'm sorry, love, but you're parents are fucking crazy." I told her truthfully. "But we are still going to get you some chocolate for your stash. I was surprised you didn't get any when we were at the store."

"They weren't on sale." She replied playfully.

I chuckled. "Well, we have some time before we meet up with dad and visit the center. How about we do that now?"

"Fine," Bella huffed.

I pulled up at the next Walgreens I saw. After fighting with Bella to take some money, she left to go in herself while I watched Elizabeth. It was risky, I know, but I parked close to the entrance for a quick getaway.

About ten minutes later, Bella came waltzing out of the store carrying an arm full of plastic bags. She laughed quietly at my shocked expression when she climbed in the car.

"I thought I gave you a twenty…unless I didn't look at it right." I started rambling.

"No, you did give me a twenty, but there was a lady in there giving out handfuls of coupons and I was able to get some fantastic deals on our favorite treats." She held up my one weakness—well besides her—cookies and cream miniatures. "The coupons were for charity, so the more you save, the more the food bank prospers."

"You can never be selfish for just one minute, can you?" I asked her jokingly because we both knew the answer to that.

Elizabeth was still asleep when we pulled up to dad's building, so Bella had to be extra careful when picking her up. She handled our daughter like a pro and we walked in.

On dad's floor we just walked into his office which was left open and the secretary wasn't at her station…again.

As usual, dad was sitting behind his desk typing on his laptop. He stopped though when he saw us come in, or more accurately, he stopped when he saw Elizabeth.

"Welcome, how did everything go today?" He whispered noticing that Elizabeth was asleep.

"She had to get a couple of shots and Bella fainted at the sight of the needle, nothing new." I mocked which earned me a bruised bicep.

"Oh, Bella, do you need a bottle of water or a coke?" Dad asked amused and concerned.

"No thank you. As I told your son and the doctor, I am just fine. Elizabeth was the one who was poked with multiple needles today. She's the one that needs the sympathy not her mother who can't handle the sight of a little piece of metal."

Dad and I didn't say anything, but rolled our eyes in response.

"Can we just get this over with? Elizabeth will be awake soon and I want to get through this tour fast."

"Sure, love." I kissed her forehead. "Is everything ready, dad?" I asked him.

"Yes, I called them up this morning and they are waiting for us." He answered.

We got back into the elevator and took it down to the fifth floor.

"This floor is for human resources and the center, the center takes up most of the floor, but is sound-proof for HR's sake." Dad explained as the elevator brought us down.

"Does that mean the teachers can't hear the fire alarm if it goes off?" Bella asked worriedly.

"No, Bella," He laughed which was stupid of him. "There are alarms in every room in this building from the bathrooms to every office. Plus there are intercoms only security has access to."

The elevator dinged before opening up to the floor.

I had never been on this floor, but it was like dad said, the floor was split in two unequal zones. The offices for HR were closed off while the daycare center had windows where one could see into every room.

"In case you were to ask, Bella dear, the windows are bullet proof." Dad tried to joke, but ended up on the receiving end of Bella's stink eye.

It was a bit of a walk to the only door in the center, but it was worth it. We got to see the colorfully decorated, large rooms with children running around everywhere.

Dad opened the door and held it open for Bella and me to go in first. Inside there was a long desk that separated a small waiting room from the largest playroom.

"Buongiorno, do you have an appointment?" A striking woman asked from behind the desk.

"Ciao, Gianna, this is my son Edward, my daughter-in-law Bella, and my granddaughter Elizabeth. We spoke on the phone this morning about that tour." Dad introduced us. I saw Bella give a slight smile when he announced her as his daughter-in-law.

"Ah, si, Mr. Masen, let me call Maggie for you." She said then quickly got onto the phone. Still, I didn't miss the subtle looks she was making my way.

Seriously, dad just introduced us as husband and wife with our daughter. Come fucking on.

"If you'll just have a seat Maggie will be with you in un momento." She waved at us while still keeping her eyes on me.

"Could she be any more obvious?" Bella commented when we sat down. She was hugging Elizabeth close since she was waking up from her short nap.

"Who couldn't be any more obvious?" I asked faking ignorance with a wink.

Bella looked smug at my answer. "Good boy." She said with a smirk.

A few minutes later, a young, intelligent looking woman came through the divider between the lobby and the playroom after wiggling out of some children's grasp with a gentle smile.

"I'll be back soon; I need to go meet some new friends. We'll play more later, I promise." She told them.

They seemed content with that answer and ran off to play with another teacher.

"Sorry about that, hi, I'm Maggie." She shook all of our hands. "And this must be Elizabeth, how are you, sweetie?"

Elizabeth gave her a small smile, but clung to Bella's hair. She wasn't shy, she must have been still tired from the shots.

"A little tired, we just came from the doctors." Bella answered.

"Oh, did the doctor poke you? I'm sorry to hear that." Maggie cooed. "Do you still want to see everything or could we wait another day for you to get some energy back?"

"We can do this today. Any other day she would be into anything and everything." Bella laughed.

"That won't be a problem. We have a different room for the toddlers anyways. We separate the children according to their ages, although, we do open up the rooms some days to allow interaction between the groups. That's only if we have small numbers of children, but lately we've had larger numbers and that gets to be more chaotic." Maggie explained. "If you would follow me we can check out everything."

Maggie led us through the small door to the larger play area.

"This is the main play area for those who are potty trained up to five years of age or when they leave for school." Maggie started while dodging children.

"Do you have a before or after school program?" Bella asked.

I was watching Bella very closely because of her lack of coordination and the toys littering the cushioned floor equaled disaster.

"Unfortunately because of budget cuts we aren't doing that any more. There is going to be a charity ball for some of the organizations in this building including us. We're hoping that it will give us enough leverage to start the program back up.

"Thankfully, though, several schools in the city do have before and after school programs…not all of them, but a good portion of them; and our goal is to be within that portion."

"Ah yes, that will be next month, correct?" Dad asked.

"It's actually been moved to the spring equinox, "children at play in the garden" was the chosen theme." Maggie pointed out.

"In two weeks, I don't recall getting the memo of the change." Dad muttered to himself obviously not pleased with the date being moved up.

"The memo was just released, I'm sure it will be on your secretary's desk when you get up to your office, Mr. Masen." Maggie tried to reassure him.

"If not then heads are going to roll." He fumed. "Let's continue with the tour." He insisted.

Maggie smiled and led us into the nursery.

We spent the next hour in that room alone. When we finally moved into the office to discuss the contract, dad had to leave for his meeting with the board. I felt bad for Maggie because we were there for another 45 minutes before Bella was satisfied with the daycare.

We made an appointment to bring Elizabeth in next week for a trail period for a few hours. Bella looked nervous as we walked to the parking lot.

"Love, she'll be fine." I assured her when we were in the car.

"Why does she have to go now? I don't have a job yet and you're not swamped with school, so why did we agree to this now?" She whispered loudly. Elizabeth was in the back seat asleep again.

"For one, she's safe. Two, we can focus on us. You and I can go to school or work during the day. We'll all be together at night, I promise." I kissed her knuckles.

"You sound cheesy." She muttered trying to hide her grin. "I just don't like being too far from her."

"I can understand that, but we can't keep her in a bubble, love."

"But where am I going to find work?"

"Try student employment when you're accepted into the university. I'm even planning on looking."

"Edward, I…"

"Bella, you don't have to look now, you have time." I interrupted her. "How is it coming with your acceptance anyways, we haven't talked about it much."

"My advisor thinks I have a very good chance at getting in. I should be hearing from the school in the next couple of months."

I kissed her knuckles once more. "I'm proud of you, love."

"Ditto, sweets," She kissed my knuckles.

Bella was still on edge as we drove home in silence, not even the radio was playing because Elizabeth was asleep.

I took the long way back, unfortunately, Elizabeth woke up before we made it, and she was cranky.

Bella kept trying to talk to her from the front seat, but that wasn't working.

"She just wants to be held." Bella explained. "I told you the shots make her cranky."

"We're a block away, babe. Hold on, sweetheart, we're almost home."

Her tears were breaking my heart reminding me of the times when I witnessed Bella crying…almost all those times were caused by her parents. I hated thinking that my daughter was crying because she was angry at us for taking her to the doctor. Then I had to expel those thoughts immediately from my head because I wasn't anything like Charlie and Renee. Elizabeth had to go today in order to stay healthy. As soon as we're out of this car, I vowed to hold her and make her feel loved for as long as she'd like.

Bella let out a sigh when I pulled into the driveway then bolted out the door before I turned off the engine reaching into the backseat for Elizabeth. I followed suit and retrieved the bags.

Inside, Bella sat down with Elizabeth pulling off her many layers then wrapped her arms securely around our cranky little one.

I joined them when I put everything away.

"Want me to start dinner?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Thanks, but I already have something in the crockpot that should be done soon. Can you hold her while I go check it?" Bella asked.

"Sure," I replied eagerly holding out my hands for Elizabeth.

She just looked at me and snuggled more into Bella's chest clutching her hair.

"Come on, sweetie, you can cuddle with daddy while mommy makes a yummy dinner." I smiled at her.

Still, she didn't move.

A bit frustrated, Bella moved towards me. The poor baby was so tired that she just went with the flow and snuggled into my chest like she did her mother.

"Can you keep her awake? I don't want her to take another nap this late or else she'll be up for half the night." Bella sighed obviously sad about Elizabeth's behavior.

"I will." I promised.

With a soft kiss on Elizabeth's head and on my lips, Bella wondered into the kitchen.

"Oh, baby girl, what would you like to do now?" I whispered in her soft hair.

Before she could answer—or more accurately, I came up with any ideas—my phone rang.

It startled Elizabeth from her haze, but rubbing her back calmed her down again.

"Hey, Alice," I greeted after checking the caller ID.

"Hi, Edward, how is everyone?" She asked. She was up to something, I could feel it.

"Good, we just got home from running errands. What do you need?" I asked getting to the point.

"Why would you assume that I need anything, Edward, that's just rude?" She scolded.

"We do need something." I heard Emmett shout from the other end of the phone followed by two distinct slaps then a groan.

"Anyways, we were just sitting around missing you and wondered what you guys are up to tonight?" Alice relented sweetly.

A little too sickly sweet if you asked me.

"Nothing much, I have a little homework to accomplish, but that's about it." I answered.

Bella must have heard my conversation with Alice for she walked into the room drying her hands off with a rag giving me a questionable look.

I mouth Alice to her and she understood immediately. She walked over to us and held her hand out for my phone.

"Alice, Bella wants to talk to you." Without waiting for Alice to reply, I just handed the phone to Bella.

"Hey, Alice, what's up?" She asked.

Alice talked for a few minutes before Bella was able to butt in.

"You guys have been bored an awful lot lately, isn't U Dub a party school?" She joked.

Alice talked for a few more minutes, I couldn't hear the words, but I could defiantly hear the whining.

Bella covered the mouth piece and asked. "Do you think Ed would mind some guests for dessert tonight?"

"You know him; he would be fine with anything as long as your cooking is involved." I joked.

She rolled her eyes, but told Alice the group was invited regardless.

"Alright, see you guys at eight." Bella smiled then pushed end.

"She's up to something." I voiced.

"I know, I've only known her for a few weeks, but it doesn't take much to read that girl." She confirmed.

"Hell yeah," I agreed. "Do you need any help in the kitchen?" I asked.

"No, the food is almost done. Why don't you put Elizabeth in her high chair while I work on dessert? In the meantime, you can do your homework, mister." She smirked at me.

It was her sexy smirk, holy hell if I can't resist that.

I followed her like a puppy; Elizabeth still curled up to me. I reached into the diaper bag and pulled out her favorite doll. She took it immediately and didn't give me much of a fuss when I stuck her in the chair.

God, it was painful walking away from my baby girl like that when she was so down. I rushed to get back to the table with my backpack in tow.

Looking through my things, there wasn't much to do. The only thing I could do was answer a few questions over a book we had been reading for one of my classes. I didn't need to keep digging through the book since I had read it several times already as did Bella who would throw in her two cents every now and then.

It felt very domestic between the three of us, albeit a little weird since I was working on homework, but still nice. I could get fucking use to this.

By the time Bella declared dinner was done, I was finished with my essay questions…I never got much homework on Mondays.

I helped Bella set the table, feed Elizabeth, and then took care of the dishes when we were finished eating. We worked together as if we had been doing this for years…as if there had been no "break."

"Do you think Ed will be home soon," Bella asked as she stuck leftovers in the fridge. "He hates to be home after we've had dinner."

"The board meeting is probably running late; those things are boring as fuck." I said. "He's been living alone for a few months now and probably got use to the single life."

"Did you ever get use to the single life?" Bella asked timidly after hesitating for a few seconds.

"Hell no, baby," I said gathering her up in my arms. "It was like this huge hole had been punched through my chest when you were gone. The night you were on that plane, I raided dad's liquor cabinet and got wasted trying to numb the pain."

"You got drunk? Edward, that has to be the most irresponsible thing you've ever done." She turned in my arms and slapped me a few times.

"I know, I know. Dad found me after I finished a bottle of Jack and locked me in my bathroom until I was sober. I thought he was going to ground me for the rest of my fucked up life, but he just told me that alcohol doesn't bring back lost loves. He also told me that he did the same thing when my mom died. The reason he stopped after that night was because of me. My mother was gone, but I needed my father. When I got shit-faced, he told me that you were still alive and I would find you again so I shouldn't be acting stupid. And do you know what?"

"You found me." She guessed.

"Yes," I kissed her head. "We found each other again and you gave me the best gift in the entire fucking world."

"You're so corny," She smiled. "And you need to watch your language. It's going to get you into trouble one day."

I couldn't hide my smirk, I fucking loved this game.

"You're right; I've been a bad, bad boy." I pouted playing along.

"Hmm, do you think you need to be punished?" She asked coyly, her blush spreading across her face.

"Uh huh, how are you going punish me, my love?" I whispered in her ear.

Impossibly she blushed harder.

"I have a few ideas." She whispered into my ear and gave it a little nip. I jumped a bit and so did my cock.

Grabbing her hips, I brought them flush against mine so that she could feel what she was doing to me.

"Edward," She whimpered. "Get the rest of the dishes into the dishwasher." She ordered then stepped away with a sexy grin on her face.

I must have looked like a sulking kid, but I did as I was told.

As I leaned over the table to get the last dish, something went swat against my left ass cheek. It was painful and yet erotic at the same time. Without standing up, I turned to look over my shoulder. Bella was standing behind me with a wooden spoon in her hand and a sexy smirk.

"You got what you deserved, Masen." She said seductively.

My ass practically swayed without my permission which earned another swat this time on my right cheek.

As I groaned, someone giggled.

Damn, we forgot about Elizabeth who was laughing her head off at me.

I buried my head in my arms across the table with a groan.

Unexpectedly, I got two more swats, one dead center and the other close to my balls. This time, I couldn't help the moan/growl I made.

I stood up and gave Bella the dirtiest glare I could give while trying to keep a smile off my face.

"Consider that your punishment for now, Mr. Masen." She said then walked away.

"Minx," I muttered under my breath.

Elizabeth was still smiling in amusement.

"You laugh now, but wait for the day when you'll say eww every time mommy and daddy kiss in front of you." I teased her.

She giggled some more.

"Hey, love?"

"Yeah,"

"When will Elizabeth start talking or walking?" I asked, curious.

"She's around that age when she'll start taking a few steps and her words will become a bit clearer, but whenever she's ready she'll start. Why?" Bella explained.

"Where did you learn all this stuff?" I asked taking Elizabeth out of her seat.

"I did a lot of research when I was pregnant. I looked up everything from the stages of development in the womb to her toddler years. But I gotta tell ya, some of those YouTube videos on birthing are not for the faint hearted. First time I watched one, I was praying to the porcelain gods, but then again, everything made me want to vomit at that point." She chuckled.

I sighed frustrated. Bella looked at me curiously; I knew what she was going to ask.

"It's not you, love; it's just another regret that I have. You don't know how much I wish I could go back in time with the knowledge that I have now to rescue you and be there for you during your pregnancy. God, I should have been there holding your hair back while you puked, or held your hand while you delivered our little miracle into the world."

"But Ed…" She started to protest.

"I know, Bella, what's done is done, but I'm going to be there with you every day for the rest of our lives, for Elizabeth, and for our future children. That is, if you'll have me."

A few tears slipped down her cheeks, but her eyes sparkled with happiness.

"I'll have you until the day we die, and even then we'll be together after that." She promised. "As for future children, I still have nightmares about the pain I went through with this little thing." She tickled Elizabeth. "Plus we're young and still in school, we're gonna wait about another decade, mister."

"Deal," I chuckled then leaned in for a kiss.

We were only able to get a peck before the doorbell pulled us apart.

As a reflex, Bella flinched back at the sound. Silently, I passed Elizabeth to her…we weren't going to take any chances.

Thankfully, it was a false alarm when I saw Alice hopping on the front porch.

"It's just the gang." I shouted to Bella as I opened the door.

"Hey, Edward," Alice greeted barely having enough time kissing my cheek before handing Jasper her designer coat and running into the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes then greeted everyone else.

By the time we all entered the kitchen, Alice had magazines and pictures scattered all over the once clean table.

In the span of three minutes tops, Alice had Bella completely overwhelmed.

"Looking at your figure, I know that nearly any style you choose can work for you. I've already chosen a ball gown for my wedding. God, what girl doesn't want to feel like a princess on her day? For you, I would go for a fitted bodice—at least—to show off your spectacular curves, seriously, you do not look like you had a baby. Speaking of which, do you want to go with traditional white? Either way, it doesn't matter what color you chose because most brides today are not virgins anyways."

"Ok, Alice, please stop." I nearly shouted getting her attention.

"Was I going too fast? I'm so sorry, but I just love weddings. It is a pain because there's so much to do and the planning takes forever. Not to mention the stress of making sure everything runs smoothly." She huffed.

Bella looked up at me with a pleading look. Elizabeth did the same thing.

"Should I book a flight or should we drive?" I asked Bella.

"I think I'd rather we drove. That way we can drive to our honeymoon." Bella answered with a smile.

"I'm thinking Disney, more for us than Elizabeth." I chuckled.

"WHAT, oh no, you guys can't elope. Don't you want to share your perfect day with your friends or…" Alice tried to argue.

"Calm down, Alice, we were just joking." Bella giggled.

"How can you joke about something as serious as this?" Alice asked outraged.

"Alice, I know you're trying to help us, but we want something very small and low key. Maybe even a courtroom wedding." Bella tried to reason.

"But that's no better than running off to Vegas." Alice pouted.

Bella was starting to lose her patience.

"Alice, I know you want to help us, and we thank you for doing this, but we don't need all of this to get married. Maybe you do, and I respect that, but this isn't us. I would be just as happy wearing a white dress from Target…"

"Uh, no, are you kidding me? A wedding dress should never come from that place. Yuck. Edward, are you really down with what your fiancée has just described?"

"Is Jasper ok with all that you've thought about how a wedding should be?" I countered already knowing the answer.

Jasper just shrugged when I looked at him. Emmett did the same.

"Ok, point taken about the guys being whipped, but…"

"Alice, what's the point about having a ridiculously expensive dress worn for one day of your life? What's the point of spending thousands of dollars on just one day? Is all the stress to make sure everything is perfect really worth it?" Bella argued getting more worked up.

In turn, she was also getting Alice worked up.

"Edward," Rose whispered in my ear. "Why don't you let Emmett and I take Elizabeth, I don't think she needs to see her mother beat up a pixie."

I nodded almost immediately, Elizabeth had been around a lot of shouting and arguing in her short little life; she doesn't need more than her fair share.

I grabbed Elizabeth from Bella as the two girls kept arguing back and forth. I thanked Rose and Emmett then had a silent conversation with Jasper.

We agreed. This was fucking madness.

"Ladies, how about we agree to disagree," Jasper jumped in. "Alice, I know you have your heart set on a huge wedding; you've shown me everything after the first time we made love, remember? But, Bella and Edward are not like us. Sure, he'll go along with anything Bella decides. If she wants to get married in the forest buck naked as a jay bird then Edward will start stripping." Hmm, now there's a thought. "The point is, darlin', that they can make their own decisions and you need to respect that."

Damn, the cowboy has some balls to say that shit to his woman.

"Alright, fine, I'm sorry for stepping on your shoes, Bella, Edward." Alice huffed gathering her shit. Her apology was only half ass; she wasn't use to not getting her way and for Jasper to speak up against her.

"It's wonderful that we could get that matter cleared up." Bella declared before turning back to the counter to finish mixing the batter. Her reply was tight. This worried me.

Bella had always been forgivable, never holding a grudge towards anyone, though, with that backbone she grew she's not going to take anything lying down. Apparently, she and Alice won't get along as well as I thought.

Jasper helped Alice put away her papers then held her as they walked out of the kitchen. I stayed behind to comfort Bella.

I wrapped my arms around her from behind breathing in her sweet, floral scent.

"Are you alright?" I whispered soothingly.

"She just kept pushing." She muttered quietly.

"I know, but that's Alice, I had to really push her back not too long ago." I reassured her. "But she does care and she wants to be your friend."

"I know, and I want to be her friend too, she just needs to back off a bit…no, a lot. Edward, we haven't talked about the wedding at all. We don't know what we want." She argued.

"Well I know one thing; we just want this to be low key. How about we just go for a courtroom wedding?"

"I don't know." She groaned.

"Ok, I get it. Let's just go and hang out with our friends. Alice really isn't as bad as you think."

"Really," She looks over her shoulder at me in disbelieve.

Before I could answer, someone else does.

"Really," Alice ran into the room with a sorrowful face. Jasper was hot on her heels. "Bella, I'm really, really, really sorry. There has been too much excitement going on and I can't help myself, especially when someone mentions weddings. Last summer, I worked with a wedding coordinator, I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn a side of the fashion business and how to run a business, but you wouldn't believe how stressful it was. I was awake for days at a time; I swear my blood was replaced with coffee…"

"Alice, Alice, we get it." Bella finally stopped her. "I get it; you're a very hyper person with a bit of a control issue."

"I am, but I'm willing to tone it down if you'd be willing to be my friend again." Alice pouted.

"I'd love to." Bella smiled then hugged her reclaimed friend.

Jasper and I looked at each other; we knew this peace wouldn't last for long.

"Oh, thanks, Bella. I have to say I'm impressed; you and Edward are the only ones who call me out when I'm getting too bossy. Jasper doesn't mind it too much and everyone else in school just lets me do all the work, most of the time I don't mind since it's my nature. Plus, my professors give me extra credit for the work while my teammates get very low grades. I haven't been in college for very long, but my professors have already learned that I work best by myself, and you know, maybe I should just be a single business owner."

"Oh shut it already, Ali, learn to say sorry and then stop talking." Rose and Em walked in holding Elizabeth.

"I knew you loved me, Rose. Oh, Bella, I really want to make it up to you, and I know just the thing. How about sometime this week, the three of us girls go to the spa for mani/pedis? It'll be my treat by the way."

"Alice, please, that's not necessary. You already apologized, that's enough." Bella reasoned.

"No, no, I won't hear another word about it. Besides, if it would make you feel better, we can just use that as a girl's day. Elizabeth will be fine with the boys, and I know Edward would love some bonding time with her. Em and Jazz could use some practice anyways for the future."

"The distant future, Alice, you're not thinking…" Jasper looked worried.

"Oh Jazzy, I know you want a family with me someday, but not yet, just know it's never too early practicing." Alice kissed her lover on the cheek.

"Yeah, we were trained to care for those plastic, loudmouth babies when we were young while you freaks got the G.I. Joes and monster trucks to play with. Talk about sexist in my opinion." Rose rolled her eyes.

"Personally, I would love to spend time with this little munchkin." Emmett pulled Elizabeth out of Rose's hands. "We could teach her to play video games, watch football, you know what I'm saying, runt?"

Elizabeth looked at Emmett like he was on crack.

I laughed taking her from the big oaf.

"I know, sweetie, Uncle Emmett is crazy as heck, but you'll get use to him." I told her. She melted in my arms making my heart swell.

"Did you hear that, Rosie? I'm an uncle now!" He boosted.

Rose rolled her eyes. "You idiot, you already have two nephews from one brother. Another is getting married this summer, and I'm pretty sure the 'virgin' bride is already knocked up."

"What can I say? We're very passionate guys who can't keep out paws away from our girls'…"

"Emmett, don't you dare finish that." Bella nearly shouted.

I mirrored her glare over my daughter's head.

Emmett held up one hand and zipped his lips with an imaginary zipper. I think he knew he was aiming for a head slap by his woman and maybe a punch from either Bella or me. More than likely, it would have been Bella since my hands are full at the moment.

"So Bella, please say you'll come." Alice pouted.

Bella was good at resisting the pout, but I sided with Alice. As far as I knew, Bella hasn't taken time for herself in…well…I don't think she's ever taken time off just to relax.

"I'm siding with Alice on this, love." She looked at me with a somewhat murderous gaze. I held up Elizabeth to sort of block me as I continued. "Doesn't every mother deserve a pamper day or some sh…thing like that?"

"Do you really feel comfortable enough to be alone with Elizabeth for a couple of hours?" She reasoned.

I looked into my daughter's precious face pondering.

"Wouldn't you like to hang out with daddy for a little while, sweetie?" I cooed at her.

She smiled her famous grin giving me the answer I already knew.

"You had to learn on the fly, Bella, and I need to learn too."

"And there's no need to worry, Mama Bear, 'cause Jazz-man and I will be there to help." Emmett threw his arm around my shoulders…not too fucking gently I might add.

"That just makes her feel so much better, I'm sure, Emmett." Alice retorted. "But seriously, Bella, you know Edward can handle this, and I know you can trust Jasper more than the big gorilla here." Alice pointed at said gorilla.

Bella sighed in defeat. "Alright, we'll give this a try, but you need to call me if there are any problems or questions you might have."

"That reminds me, we should get you a new phone."

"But with my disposable, it's untraceable since I pay as I go."

"We'll talk to dad about that one, but I'm going to push you out the door to go out with the girls next week."

She growled softly, but I could see the resolve in her eyes.

"Fine," She voiced.

"Yay," Alice squealed which startled Elizabeth again. "Crap,"

Bella and I rolled our eyes at Alice as we concentrated on calming our daughter once more.

The others stayed a couple more hours eating the egg-less brownie batter that Bella made earlier. Dad came home shortly after the others had left; having passed them down the street. He apologized for being late saying that the meeting lasted longer than he expected and he didn't want to leave a mountain of paperwork for tomorrow. He had a taste of the batter and leftover dinner before going upstairs to bed grabbing a kiss from his granddaughter on the way.

It wasn't long after dad went to bed that Bella and I decided to get Elizabeth ready for bed. We dropped shortly after that. Ok, so we had a little make out session before we fell asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

The rest of the week was pretty low key and relatively the same as Monday. I would wake up with Bella in my arms, we eat breakfast as a family then dad and I would head out leaving Bella and Elizabeth alone.

I concentrated more on missing my girls than my classes, but they were so fucking easy it didn't matter anyway. After my last class, I would go home to the loves of my life.

At 5:30, dad would come home, scoop up Elizabeth and play with her while Bella and me fixed dinner. After dinner, he would play with Elizabeth while Bella and I cleaned up the kitchen then we would have family time.

Bella has been keeping a stiff upper lip with everything surrounding us, but I could tell the stress was taking its toll on her. On Wednesday I woke up to her softly crying in the middle of the night. I pretended to be asleep and hugged her closer to me, but it still took an hour before she fell asleep again even then I didn't go back to sleep.

Friday was the day Alice, Bella, and Rosalie agreed to go to the spa, and I'm super excited to spend some alone time with my daughter even though Jasper and Emmett will be with us. However, I'm also scared as fuck that Bella and the girls could run into Charlie or one of his minions. We've planned it all out and Alice knows the owner of the spa, so they have that on their side just in case.

Come Friday, it was a struggle to get Bella out the door.

"Bella, we're going to be late." Alice whined from the front door.

Bella was gripping Elizabeth like a lifeline.

Rosalie rolled her eyes and snatched our little one out of Bella's hands and placed her into mine. "There, you've had your hugs and kisses, we will be back in a couple of hours and you'll be free to hold her again." She said sternly.

Bella glared at the blond glamazon, but she knew Rose was right.

I hugged Bella into my side and pecked her on the temple. She leaned up to kiss my chin and Elizabeth's hand before turning towards the door. With a whispered goodbye at us, she walked out the door. From the window, I waved Elizabeth's hand as the girls drove down the driveway.

"Come on, Ed, she'll be back. Rosie will keep her safe." Emmett bellowed.

"And Alice will keep her mind off her problems. We had a little talk before we came over." Jasper reassured me.

"More like a fight." Emmett laughed. Jasper did not look amused. "She said he was being domineering and accused him of not trusting her."

"Which wasn't true, and she finally got that after we kicked your fat ass out of the room." Jasper fumed.

"Hey, enough, let's keep it PG." I ordered.

"Fine, what the hell do we do now?" Em asked.

"Let's go turn on the TV or something, I ordered pizza and wings since Alice talked Bella into going out for dinner." I said.

They listened, Emmett grinning like a Cheshire Cat no doubt thinking about the dinner that's due to be delivered anytime now.

Jasper found a game on TV, and funny enough, Elizabeth seemed to be more interested in the game rather than the toys I laid out for her. She was just holding onto her ragdoll while staring at the TV.

I shook my head amused at the sight.

We had only been watching the game for a few minutes before the doorbell rang.

"Alright, boys, cough it up." I said.

Emmett gave me a "What the fuck?" face while Jasper was already going for his wallet.

"You're shit crazy if you thought dinner would be free, airhead." I laughed.

Emmett grumbled and cursed repeatedly under his breath as he reached for his wallet.

The doorbell rang again as I was walking towards it, but I wished the door didn't have a window because I could see him like he could see me.

He had that maniacal smile on his face as I opened the door.

"Edward Anthony Masen Jr." He greeted me.

"Charlie." I responded.

His smile dropped. "That's Chief Swan to you, boy."

"Whatever," I dismissed, "What are you doing here? No one here called for you to come trespassing on the property."

He eyed me with his cop stare, the same one he gave me when he warned me to never look for Bella. A few years ago this look would have made my knees shake, but now, it made me want to roll my eyes at him.

"Say what you have to say then leave and I'll act as if you were never here." I said in a low voice.

"Are you threatening a police officer, Masen?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No, just reminding you that I'm a teenager and how my attention span works."

"And I will remind you that you can be tried as an adult now that you're over eighteen."

"Now are you threatening me, Charlie?"

"Don't get smart with me, Masen; this is your last warning before I arrest you for interfering in a case."

"Good luck with that, with his witnesses, Edward would be out of your cellblock before the night is out." Jasper spoke up behind me.

Both he and Emmett had taken positions behind me as my back up.

Charlie did not waver; he was only getting angrier, his lone deputy looking like a little idiot right next to him.

"Say your piece, cop." Emmett said.

"I'm just checking in on the lawyer and son who can't stay out of my business. What are you looking for anyways?" He asked.

I didn't blink as I answered. "We're just checking up on some questionable folks whose latest actions have become rather suspicious. I wonder what the mayor would think when he finds out that a small town police chief has taken over a portion of Seattle's police force, don't you?"

His eyes furrowed reminding me of Bella when she gets angry.

"Stay out of my fucking business, boy, if you know what's good for you." He threatened and I fucking wished I had my recording app turned on to document his threat.

"You left your message loud and clear, our business here is done." Jasper said. I picked up on his hidden message.

With one last silent death glare, Charlie and his deputy walked down the stairs. The guys and I stayed at the door watching him carefully. As he pulled out, the pizza guy showed up.

Heading back into the house with the food, I forgot that we had left Elizabeth alone. Tossing the boxes to Jasper—FYI, Emmett is not trustworthy to carry food—I all but ran into the living room only to find my sweet angel still glued to the game. Her brow furrowed in concentration like her mother and grandfather.

I chuckled at my baby girl as I walked past her.

"Smart sugar cookie," Jasper muttered behind me.

Emmett let out a bellow of a laugh as he walked into the kitchen with us. I quickly checked in the living room to make sure Elizabeth was alright, she hated loud noises, but she was sitting there wholly enamored by the game to notice Emmett.

"Jazz, can you put some slices of each on a plate for me? I have to feed Elizabeth her dinner. She's going to be demanding it any minute now."

"You sure about that? Think about it, Edward, since she's acting like a dude everything else besides the game will fade into the background." Emmett teased.

"Even you can't ignore your stomach, sasquatch." Jasper teased back.

"Yeah, but I wait until there's a break to go get something. You'd be surprised how fast I can do stuff in just a few minutes, make a couple sandwiches, do homework, bang Rosie…"

"Dude, not now." I growled pointing in the direction of the living room.

"Hey Em, how many times have you taken our dear Miss Rose when a game is on break?" Jasper smirked.

"Uh…let's go watch the game, and Ed man, I can't believe how irresponsible you are…leaving your little girl all alone without a friend to sit by her side to watch what may be a historic game. You make me sick." It was a hit below the belt, but he was only joking clearly from that shit-eating grin he was sporting.

"Then get out there, dude." I grinned back.

He wasted no time following my suggestion with a huge dish of food.

"And just for the record, he only did that once to Rose and forgot to get her off too. She wouldn't let him touch her for the rest of the weekend." Jasper said in mock whisper.

"But I made up for my mistake as soon as I got the chance." Emmett shouted from the living room.

I started to laugh when I heard Elizabeth starting to fuss.

"Uh…bro," Emmett called nervously.

"I'm coming." I called back. The bottle was finished warming up anyways.

Walking into the living room, Emmett had abandoned his food and was holding Elizabeth trying to calm her down, but failing at it. I had what she wanted.

I took my girl from Emmett and put the bottle in her mouth before I even moved away from him. She suckled it down happily.

"Damn, dude, you've picked up quick." Emmett commented through a mouth full of food.

I sat down on the couch next to him.

"Well, I'm not going to let Bella do it all." I quipped.

"No man, that's not what I fucking meant, if it were me I wouldn't know what the hell to do without Rosie's help." He backtracked.

"Em, what makes you think Rosalie would know what to do? She would probably be as lost as you." Jasper reasoned.

"I guess, but still." Emmett gave up, but I understood where he was getting at.

"I know, Em, believe me I was afraid when I first saw her. My first thought was 'I have a baby,' and then the next was 'holy hell, I have a baby.' Bella really had to help me out, and I'm learning off the fly like she did." I explained. "I think when you and Rose have kids you'll learn this stuff faster than you thought possible."

"Yeah, dude, I helped to raise my baby sisters, and I can tell ya there is no manual for that, even the nannies—all of whom had high degrees in childhood education—had a hard time some days." Jasper added.

"Bella had to pick this stuff up quickly and with no help from her mother only Phil, but he had no fucking clue what to do either."

"Speaking of Bella's fucked up sperm and egg donors, what was up with that shit we just saw?" Emmett asked.

Elizabeth was done and fully concentrating on the TV already. I put her back down on her blanket and retook my seat.

"He's just doing what he thinks he does best…scare the living crap out of people." I answered.

"He's starting to grasp straws." Jasper commented before taking another bite of pizza.

"I don't know if it's because he misses his daughter or if he misses the control he had over her." I replied my mouth full of food.

"Will he ever give up?" Emmett asked sounding serious.

"Not until he's in his grave even then I'm sure somehow he'll still try." I answered. "I'll tell my dad about tonight, but Bella not just yet. She has enough stress going on, and knowing her, she'll try to run with Elizabeth again if she knows her father's getting too close. I don't think he suspects anything at the moment, but I'll get dad on it to see if any of his connections have heard anything."

"I think I should bring out my favorite toy again." Jasper smirked.

"Eww, Jazz man, I thought you and Alice were done with that kinky shit." Emmett groaned.

Jasper scowled at him. "I was talking about my police scanner, the ultimate guy toy. My boys and I listened to it all the time down in Texas."

"Oh yeah, mom had one. Whenever the TV was busted at our house she would turn it on and we would listen to that and play cops and robbers. Ah, the good old days, how I miss them." Emmett laid on the dramatics.

"Dad had court papers which were my police scanners." I smirked.

"Isn't that illegal or some shit?" Emmett asked.

"It's a terrible accident if someone happens to leave open files on the kitchen counter while they run for a bathroom break." I shrugged.

"Lawyers," Jasper shook his head in amusement.

Speaking of the devil, dad walked into the house looking tired as hell.

"Hey, Mr. M," Emmett bellowed his mouth full of pizza.

"Hello, boys, any dinner left?" He asked.

"We just dipped into it. I'll fix you a plate; I need to get Elizabeth's mushy dinner ready anyways." I offered.

"Thanks, son, I need to get out of this monkey suit. Are the girls still out?"

"Yeah, with Alice in the mix there's no way to know when they'll be back." I joked.

By the time I came out with the food, dad had Elizabeth in his lap. As soon as she saw the jar of food in my hand, she started wiggling from her grandfather's grip.

Trading dad, I grabbed Elizabeth and took her back to my original spot. She wasn't really patient when I tried to put a bib on her and wouldn't pay much attention to the food either, but I wasn't any better. The game was close and everyone was focused on this last inning.

With the final catch of a fly ball by the Mariners, the living room sounded like the stadium. Elizabeth even caught on to the excitement and squealed in happiness.

"Phew, what a game," Jasper commented getting up, I presume, to get more food.

"You can say that again, bro. I thought that ball was going to go foul, that bastard would have gotten to base if that happen." Emmett agreed.

"That would have been bad; did you see who was up next? That guy had been carrying his team through the whole damn game. I'm surprised it ended up so close." I added putting more food into Elizabeth's mouth now that she was more interested in her stomach.

"I'll bet their coach was banking on that, boys, they've made it this far into the season with him doing all the work while the rest of the team got fat and lazy." Dad grumbled.

"What do you think, baby girl?" I asked Elizabeth as she took the last bite like a champ. "Yeah, they're idiots for letting him do that. I hate to say it, but they might have traveled farther had they all worked out like that guy."

"Nice life lesson, daddy." Emmett mocked.

I glared at him and threw a balled up napkin at his head. Elizabeth laughed and clapped when it hit him. Bella would have killed me to encourage this behavior, but I think we'll just teach her that hitting Uncle Emmett is acceptable. Serves the fucker right in my opinion.

I set Elizabeth back on the floor and this time she went straight for her toys. I got up to clean up knowing Bella would hate stepping into a messy house, and I would hate it if all that pampering went to waste. Jasper sat right on down with Elizabeth while Emmett tried to find another game on TV.

"Oh yeah, dad," I suddenly reminded myself. "We had an unexpected visitor stop by the house tonight."

"Who, one of your frienemies from high school delivered the pizza?" He joked.

Sorry to disappoint.

"No, Charlie Swan and one of his deputies from Forks, they came to check in on us."

"Did he now? Did he give you a reason why?" Dad looked down at Elizabeth briefly before looking back up at me. I knew what he was silently asking.

"He said that he knew we were keeping tabs on him and Renee and kindly asked us to stop." I answered sarcastically.

"Mmm…" Dad thought. "It seems a little odd that he came to us now instead of months ago."

"Is it weird that he knows you are investigating him?" Emmett asked.

"It's actually to be expected, Emmett, he has some resources at his disposal, but not to the extent that I have. I think mostly he was just guessing especially since we're still in the state of Washington."

"I think he would try to reach out to us no matter where we went, dad." I voiced coming back into the living room after taking the dishes into the kitchen. "Especially when Bella ran away, he would probably think she would know where we were and we would hide her and Elizabeth."

"He's paranoid, he knows his back is against the wall and is trying to find an opening." Jasper added, his tone quiet as he played with Elizabeth.

"That reminds me, Jazz recorded part of our conversation if you want to add it to your collection?"

Jasper held out his phone without even being asked.

Dad took it. "Thanks, Jasper, you all make a good team." He commented while opening up the recording app.

"Too bad we're all going into different fields." Emmett joked.

"Just think about your options, boys, going into law isn't half bad." Dad joked walking towards his office, but stopped right outside the door. "The pay is pretty decent too." He smirked then shut the door behind him.

An hour later Elizabeth was starting to get fussy, so I scooped her up and carried her upstairs.

Damn, I felt sorry for Bella. Tonight was the first night I had to bathe Elizabeth by myself and I understood what it was like for Bella. I spent some time cuddling with my baby girl in our new rocking chair before I laid her down in her newly painted room. Despite Alice's wishes—ranting—about helping out with the details, Bella and I finished the room this past week…and it turned out pretty fucking good if I do say so myself.

"Goodnight, angel." I whispered to a now sleeping Elizabeth.

I had a hard time walking away from her, but somehow I did, taking the baby monitor with me.

On my way downstairs, I heard the front door open and close then some very harsh female voices.

This can't be good.

And it wasn't. Bella was sitting on the couch while Alice was standing over her, both had scowls on their faces. Bella's leg was up on the couch next to her resting on a pillow...what happened now?

"What happened to your ankle?" I asked sitting by it carefully. It looked slightly swollen nothing some ice could help with.

Speaking of which, Jasper walked in with a dishtowel wrapped around something…I'm guessing he got the ice.

Rosalie huffed and rolled her eyes because neither Alice nor Bella were backing down.

"We just finished getting our nails done when Bella let it slip that you were going to a charity ball then Alice got over-excited about it and insisted that she take Bella shopping for a dress tonight." I let out a groan; Jasper turned a heated stare at his girlfriend's back, while Emmett shook his head. "Bella and Alice compromised to just look at dresses for now, but then Alice wanted to look at shoes and when Bella said she doesn't own a pair of heels Alice decided our new friend needed to be educated."

"Alice." I groaned already knowing what happened next.

"I was trying to be helpful." She defended herself.

"But you weren't listening to me when I said I was a major klutz…worst still, you pulled out four inch stilettos and strapped them to my feet before I could pull them away from your claws." Bella argued.

"Those were the only shoes in your size." Alice retorted lamely. "It doesn't hurt to practice anyways."

"But with four inch heels, Alice? I told you what would happen and look how it ended." She raised her slim leg. "You're lucky it's just a sprain and I don't have to go to the fucking hospital."

"You could have been a little more careful since you know your own fucking limitations." Alice, please shut up.

"I already know my limitations and that is anything with fucking heels in general no matter the height."

"I was only trying to be a friend and introduce you…"

"If you were trying to be a friend you would have fucking listened to me in the first place."

"Or at least found her some lower heels to begin with." Rosalie piped in.

"Oh, fuck off, Rosalie."

"Shut up, Alice, before you wake Elizabeth." I growled, her voice was getting louder.

"We should go now, Alice." Jasper was eerily calm meaning he was angry, and Alice knew this too and turned her glare at him.

I walked them out as Dad came in with a small bottle of pain medication. Bella took them dry…as a klutz she was a pro with taking pills.

"I'm going to go check on Elizabeth." Dad excused himself.

I didn't hear Elizabeth on the monitor which was a miracle she didn't wake up to the warzone one floor below her.

I moved to sit behind Bella and pulled her down on my chest so that we stretched out on the couch it was then that I noticed her toenails. Damn blue, they were going to give me some dirty fucking fantasies.

"Did you find anything you like?" I asked.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. I rubbed her tense shoulders to help calm her down.

"Not really, I wanted to look at jewelry, but she dragged me to shoe department before I could say anything." She answered.

"Jasper tells me that you have to be in good physical condition to shop with Alice."

"You can say that again." I could hear her eyes roll.

"Does your foot hurt?"

"Not really, but I'm use to this kind of thing."

"How long do you think your foot will take to heal?"

"We'll see, Edward, and I don't want to go to the hospital." I heard the warning in her voice as well as the fear.

"Love, if your foot is worst tomorrow I'm taking you to the doctor. Dad has the day off so he can watch Elizabeth," I kissed the side of her head. "She will be safe, sweetheart."

"I won't need to go to the hospital, trust me on that." She glared at me.

"And you can trust me on that too; it shouldn't be anything more than a sprain." Rosalie added. I had forgotten she and Emmett were still in the room.

"Thanks, Rosalie, there's some leftover food in the kitchen if you're hungry." I offered.

"Good, because I worked up a fucking appetite dealing with those two all afternoon," she didn't even finish that sentence before she walked off.

Emmett shrugged then followed his woman.

"Are you hungry too, love?" I asked Bella.

Her eyes were closed, she was still fuming, but nodded her head anyways. Knowing Alice, she wouldn't let anyone eat while she was in shopping mode and whatever was eaten beforehand would be burned off leaving her victim hungry as hell by the end of the torture.

I got up to find Rosalie and Emmett sitting at the table with their plates. I found my dish and grabbed a new one for my woman then loaded both of them up, grabbing a couple of sodas from the fridge too.

Bella smiled when I came back into the living room with our food.

"Do you know how long it took me to carry a tray of food without dropping anything?" She said as she grabbed her plate and drink from my hand.

"Um, a week?" I guessed.

She gave me a playful glare because she knew I was guessing low.

"Never," she answered taking a big-ass bite of her pizza.

"With all that noise, I'm surprised Elizabeth is still asleep." Dad said as he was coming down the stairs. "I remember Edward would wake up at the slightest sound."

"What did you give our baby, sleeping pills?" Bella turned to me.

"Fuck no, we've been watching the game and she must have worn herself out with all the excitement."

Bella smirked. "So you found she likes sports, huh?"

I nodded chuckling at the memory. "Oh yeah, but I think she just liked hearing us cheer."

"I don't know about that. There have been times when she placed herself in front of the TV and would watch the game intently. At first I thought she was just fascinated with the screen until one day she was sitting in front of the TV playing when a football game came on. You know me about sports so I changed the channel to some cartoons and you would have thought I took away her doll and bottle from the way she was pitchin' a fit. She just gave me a devilish glare until I changed it back." She laughed at the memory.

"FUCK YES," I whisper-yelled. "My daughter will be a sports-fanatic tomboy."

"Which means she'll probably hang out with more boys than girls," Bella smiled wider as did my eyes at the realization.

I didn't realize that and grumbled at the thought.

"I guess now you know how Charlie and Renee feel." I nearly choked when she said that.

"Isabella, I am nothing like your parents. Sure, I don't want my baby girl hanging around parasitic boys, but she might…when she gets older? Oh fuck, baby."

"I'm sorry, Edward. I shouldn't have brought that up."

"No, Bella, it's another good angle to look at, but I don't think Edward here will go to the extremes." Dad defended her.

"He's right, but can we not think about this for maybe another 29 years?" I pleaded.

Bella rolled her eyes and smiled.

I was about to ask Bella if she wanted seconds when Rosalie ran into the living room with a confused Emmett on her heels.

"Alice just texted, she and Jasper are back at the dorms and he has his radio scanner on. They just heard your father say this address and calling for back-up to meet him here." Rosalie said in a rush.

Oh shit.


	18. Chapter 18

"Edward, he's coming." Bella was panicking.

"Uh, Rose, you and Emmett get Elizabeth out of here right now. Her car-seat is in my car, here, take these." I threw them my keys.

"The diaper bag is packed with everything you'll need; it's by the dressing table in her room." Bella added.

"I'll connect with Jenks. This shit is starting to blow." Dad pulled out his phone.

"What about you two?" Emmett asked as his girlfriend went to grab our baby and the bag.

"If Charlie is coming here, Elizabeth needs to be safe. You two we can trust more than anyone else, and she is our priority." Bella explained trying to get up, but I wouldn't let her.

"Where do we take her?" Emmett asked. He was pacing the floor in front of us.

"I'll give you money for a hotel for now. I don't expect this madness to go on for long, so you should still be able to catch your flight to Tennessee tomorrow." Dad said already heading into his office.

Emmett and I were pacing as Rosalie brought down a sleepy Elizabeth. Bella held out her hands to which Rosalie placed our baby into Bella's waiting arms. Elizabeth curled up to her mother and went back to sleep. I joined them on the couch holding them both and trying not to let my fears get to me especially with the plan I was forming.

"If push came to shove, we can also give you money to take Elizabeth to Tennessee." I got out trying to swallow the bile in my throat when I got the words out.

"Edward, no," Bella almost sobbed.

Emmett and Rosalie were looking at me like I was crazy.

"All Charlie wants to do is arrest us and take Elizabeth away so we can't get to her…that's his number one goal, to split us all up." I concluded.

"But why?" Rosalie asked looking dangerously angry.

"As a cop he has a lot of control and doesn't like it to be lost in anyway shape or form." Bella answered. "This is his way of showing his love for me. He thinks of Edward and Elizabeth as obstacles in my life that he needs to get rid of so the order he and Renee created for me will go back to being the straight and narrow again."

"That's fucked up." Emmett continued his pacing. "I don't know about taking Elizabeth to Tennessee with us, wouldn't that be a felony or some shit?"

"I don't think Charlie's power will extend that far into the country." I answered.

Dad walked back into the room with a stuffed envelope. I'm pretty sure it was from his emergency pile and there was more than enough for a hotel room and even a plane ticket.

"Emmett, give me your phone number." Emmett rambled it off as Dad quickly plugged the number in his phone. "I just sent the number and your names to a couple friends of mine. All can be trusted, and expect a call from a Tanya Denali. She's a social worker who can answer any questions you might have in regards to leaving the state.

"My contact from the station just informed me that we have less than ten minutes at most, so we better get this show on the road if we are to expect company."

Bella and I held a still sleeping Elizabeth closer between us. She is so lucky to not know the sadness her parents were feeling right now, and I prayed to fucking God that this hellish nightmare will be over sooner. I didn't want to lose my baby girl again before I got to know her.

Dad gathered Elizabeth after giving us our moment. He held her tight and a tear ran down his cheek as he kissed her head before giving her to Rosalie.

With one last wishes of good luck and I love you's, our friends dashed out through the kitchen as it was closer to my parked car.

Bella held in her tears for as long as possible until we heard the Volvo's engine ignite then the dam broke and we clung together for strength. Dad was also fighting tears, but then his demeanor turned to determination when we saw the lights pull up to the house.

"How many?" Bella asked in a relatively calm voice.

Dad stood in front of the open window just glaring out into the night.

"Just three," He replied. "I expected more, though."

A harsh knock was all the warning we got before the police stormed in, Charlie Swan was, of course, the leader of the team. All of them had their weapons drawn and were shouting orders at the three of us to stay put and put our hands on our heads.

Charlie walked up to Dad who stood calmly in front of the window with his hands folded behind his back.

"It's good to see you like this." Charlie smirked before pulling out his cuffs.

Bella and I were pulled away from each other. I nearly fought my restrainers when the cop was handling her too roughly even as she explained he sprained her ankle. The bastard didn't even care.

A couple of other cops went up the stairs. All of them had their guns at the ready. We were taken outside before the small team came back down, but I'll be willing to bet they were looking for Elizabeth as one of them was a female.

Turns out I was right. As the three of us were loaded into different cars, one member of the small team walked up to Charlie and spoke quietly to him. His face resembled that of an angry bull. It was frightening because I had never seen him that livid before, even when he came to arrest me at my own house after finding out about Bella and me.

Since Charlie was right next to the car he pulled dad into, he started interrogating the still calm lawyer…more like yelling obscene vulgarity in his face.

Bella was the in the car on the other side of the road from me. She also had a bravado mask and was hiding her tears. I recognized that look, she was fucking furious and I couldn't fucking blame her for I'm sure my face resembled hers.

Eventually, Charlie got tired of having a one-sided yelling match and slammed the door with too much force. He got into the front seat of the same car signaling to the others it was time to leave.

I was trying to control my temper, to act like dad since we didn't do anything wrong, so why act like a criminal and start trouble? I'm sure Charlie would love that. It was hard to control myself when I heard Charlie's voice come on over the radio.

"All drivers be on the lookout for a silver, four door Volvo." He rattled off my license plate number.

It wasn't the smartest move to give Rosalie and Emmett my car to take, but it had the car-seat and we were trying to save time by getting them out of there.

I just hope they were smart enough to fucking ditch it before too long or else they would be in the jail cell with us.

We were booked and processed before being led into separate cells except for Bella, who had been led off somewhere else.

No matter how much I wanted to talk to my dad, we just couldn't already knowing the cops would be listening for any clues we might accidently give them. Plus there were cameras pointed right at us, so silent communication was out of the question as well.

An hour had passed when a cop came to get me. I was fairly calm after following dad's example of sitting and breathing deeply because I'm pretty sure who will be in that interrogation room and would want me to lose my cool.

I was right. Charlie fucking Swan walked into the room followed by a suited guy…a detective no doubt.

"Mr. Masen, I am Detective Mica and I'm sure you already know Chief Swan here." He was barely polite before getting right down to business. "Mr. Masen, are you aware that Miss Isabella Swan has been on the run from the law for the past few months?"

Charlie's face was smooth, void of any emotion, except his eyes. I know he's tried for years to discipline them like the rest of his body, but similarly to Bella, he hasn't been able to succeed especially to people who know what to look for.

"Mr. Masen, do you need me to repeat the question?" The detective asked.

I took a big breath like I was going to answer, but didn't. I just stared straight at Charlie doing my best impression of dad.

The detective kept talking, telling me this and that which I already knew from dad's investigations as well as from Bella's story. I wasn't surprised, however, when our evidence and conclusions didn't match up. Obviously, Charlie had added some false information like Bella stealing money and a car from the crippled Phil Dwyer last year to run away, and Bella giving the woman's shelter falsified documents.

The detective was really making Bella out to be the bad mother Charlie, no doubt, painted her to be. He wasn't going after me, though, and I knew why. He knew I wouldn't care what they dug up on me—like there was much to begin with—so he was trying different tactics. Normally, going after Bella would make me explode and defend her honor, except, I had grown from the last time he had used that against me.

The next thing out of the detective's mouth almost made me lose it, though.

"Mr. Masen, are you also aware that what has been going on with your girlfriend has repercussions on little Elizabeth? With the charges against Isabella, Elizabeth could end up being taken away by a social worker and given to a foster family."

My anger flashed just briefly before I was in control again, but it was enough for the detective to keep pushing for he saw my weakness.

"Mr. Masen," his tone softened and he leaned closer to me. "Elizabeth is a beautiful child; I would hate to think she would end up as a ward of the state, to be shuffled from one foster family to the next all because her parents didn't think what was best for her. There are success stories, I'm sure you have heard, but there are horror stories as well."

He was painting a picture in my head, and I did not fucking like it.

Stay in control, stay in control, stay in fucking control.

"Edward," Charlie addressed me, and he wasn't hostile. "Son, please talk to Bella. It's not too late for her to choose the right path. Justice can be swift if she cooperates with us."

He was trying to soften me up, and at the same time he was trying to control her future again through me. I heard the underlying deal he was making. If we gave up custody of Elizabeth and on our relationship then nothing would be filed against us.

Fuck that shit.

I leaned back in my chair, crossed my arms, closed my eyes and tipped my head up to the ceiling. I was fucking done with these bastards.

Violently, I was disturbed from my little daydream about taking Bella and Elizabeth to the beach when two strong paws grabbed my shirt and hoisted me up against the wall.

"You little bastard, you think you're better than me?" He yelled in my face. "I will get you, I will get my daughter back, be fucking sure of that."

"Chief, put him down." The detective was saying over and over again, but he was standing on the other side of the table like the pussy he was.

I stared Charlie down. Bella was right, he didn't like it when he was being defied like a child throwing a temper tantrum when he didn't get his way.

Eventually, he gave up when the detective finally grew a pair and pulled Charlie away. I straightened my shirt before picking up my chair and sitting down again.

Charlie left the room with a confused detective on his heels. A cop walked in from his post outside the door and led me back to the holding cells leaving me in my cage before taking dad out for his turn.

Still no sign of Bella, and I was fucking worried about her.

"Masen," A cop called as he came down the short hall towards me.

I stood up from my seat as he unlocked the door.

"Your lawyer is here." He simply said before escorting me to the lobby area.

I was expecting to see one, maybe two for the three of us, but this room was filled with lawyers…many of whom I recognize from dad's office.

"Edward," Jenks came up to me first shaking my hand. "Have they been treating you right?"

"You mean besides not telling me what I'm being arrested for, and being manhandled by one Charlie Swan?" I told him.

Jenks released my hand and took out a pad of paper handing it to me. "Write it down." He said.

I sat down and wrote about the arrest, my "interview" with the detective, and Charlie's outburst.

Jenks read it over along with a couple of others.

"Hmm…sounds like it's time to bust you three out of here." He said.

I stood up and spoke in a low voice. "But we need to shut this shit down. Bella was brought in with us, but I haven't seen her since."

"And we will." The twinkle in Jenks' eyes gave me hope.

I sat back down and in no time at all, dad came strolling out from the back whistling a happy tune. Charlie was escorting him out and looked pissed.

"Come, come, Chief Swan, you surely didn't think you can keep us with the little 'evidence' you have. Jenks, thanks for coming on such notice." Dad said with a smile.

Jenks shook his hand. "It's not a problem, Masen, we've all been itching for a good party. Now, Chief Swan, I'll just give this to you and Kate here can go back with this detective to retrieve Miss Swan."

Jenks handed Charlie a sealed envelope. I looked to my dad wondering what his partner had given the Chief to which he mouthed 'governor.'

Charlie's face blanched as he read the letter inside.

"I'm being forced to retire?" He choked out.

"Yes, Chief, consider it as a pardon. You would have been charged as a criminal for misuse of public funds, tampering with evidence…well, you knew what you had stacked against you and what your punishment would have been. Lucky for you the mayor was on your side, but not Washington's governor who is very displeased to learn about his city's protection force being compromisingly mislead for personal gain by one desperate, small-town man.

"Regardless, we understand you wanted your daughter back, Charlie, however, she is a young woman who has her own hopes and dreams."

Said young woman hobbled out of the back door with the help of Kate. I ran up and collided with her; she wrapped her arms around me without looking in her father's direction. I picked her up still concerned about her ankle.

"And who also found herself a good guy."

"Bella," Charlie crooked out at his daughter who was holding onto me like a lifeline. She had her face buried in my neck refusing to look at her father.

"All of you will be receiving a memorandum from the governor in the morning detailing the events of this case in its true form. I can also tell you, personally, he is not happy with how this precinct has been run for the past few months and that no one spoke out against it, so be prepared for a reprimand to appear on your records." An older woman spoke up. I have a feeling she was from the Governor's office with the way she carried herself.

Jenks clapped his hands. "Well, I think that's all. Kate, if you could give your sister a call we can leave for the night. Goodnight, Mr. Swan."

Charlie still had the letter in his hands like he was reading it, however, he was looking at his daughter who was obviously ignoring him.

As a father—albeit for only a week—I felt his pain. I can just imagine going overboard with Elizabeth in the future—especially about boys—and knowing that she could hate me if I went too far. Still, as the boyfriend to the woman in my arms and the father to a beautiful child, both of whom this man had hunted down as criminals, I can understand Bella's unrelenting anger towards the man who stopped her from living her life.

Jenks took us home which was quick since I had gotten use to driving zigzag all over town before getting home. Bella stayed quiet, leaning against me, but staring out the window. We didn't bother with conversation, not even the two lawyers in the front spoke.

As soon as we saw the Volvo in the driveway, Bella and I were out of the backseat and racing up to the front door. The lights were low as five people sat in the living room…well six as the sleeping lamb was nestled in Rosalie's arms.

Rose stood up carefully and was just as careful transferring her bundle in Bella's awaiting arms.

"Thank you." Bella whispered to our friends.

It's so funny to think that this little miracle slept through the night without even noticing that her world almost deteriorated thanks to her grandparents.

That night, I pulled Elizabeth's crib into our room so we could all be close, but two out of the three of us didn't sleep. Instead, we celebrated quietly.

We started off not being able to keep our hands off each other as if we were still trying to believe the other one was staying. Then the simple kisses became deeper while our hands explored each other, relearning what we had forgotten or has been missed since I haven't forgotten the feel of my Bella.

Eventually I had to see her, at first she protested about losing her shirt, but I had to see her all of her. Finally, when she relented, I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I almost wept at the sight of her beauty when she laid bare underneath me.

"My memories of your beauty were not as clear as my eyes look upon you now, love." I told her my forehead touching lightly to hers.

There were tears in her eyes and a lovely smile on her face.

I took my time exploring with my lips since Bella wanted the blanket pulled over our naked bodies. There wasn't the option of moving Elizabeth out of our sight tonight, but we needed this time and a little privacy with a blanket did the trick.

Every freckle, scar, mole, even the stretch marks were attended to by me until I came to her entrance giving her pussy the same treatment as the rest of her.

"God, Edward." She breathed withering and quietly moaning.

I didn't make her wait, didn't tease her, I just showed her my love as I brought her to her happy peak taking the care to bring her back down to earth, back to me.

I moved so that we were lying side by side. She met my lips again and gave my body the same treatment I had given hers. When her little hand grasped my shaft I pulled her body up while mine found purchase in her warmth once more.

Our lips kept one another from becoming too loud as we took and gave love while not actually doing to whole deed. It was satisfying when we reached our desired goal. Damn, I had missed that connection, and from the drunken-love look Bella gave, she felt the same way.

It was part of our silent conversation, Bella wasn't on the pill anymore and as I didn't have any condoms in storage this was as close as we could get.

We tried to stay awake both us facing Elizabeth's crib, mostly we dozed then would awake about an hour or so later. Needless to say, when Elizabeth woke up with the morning sun we were sluggish to get up with her.

Dad was in the kitchen, a newspaper in one hand with his face buried in it, and the other held a steaming cup of coffee.

I got Elizabeth's breakfast ready and fed her as Bella got our breakfast started.

It was quiet as we ate, even Elizabeth was as well as if she sensed something was going on.

Dad broke the silence with a low hum.

"What is it?" Bella also knew that sound.

"There's nothing in the papers worth reading." He folded the paper then set it down before taking another drink of his coffee.

"Too bad, there would have been a major headliner this morning if it wasn't for you, Ed." She commented.

"Yeah, more praise for the cops and I'm sure disgrace for your friends at the firm, dad."

"It would have been more people than that, son, all the way to the mayor's office." He gave us a pointed look.

Bella's breath hitched. The mayor had been on Charlie's side after all.

"Don't worry, Bella," dad patted her hand. "My connections run high up the chain, and I don't have any hidden agendas, nor do I need to resort to blackmail."

Bella and I stared at him in confusion.

"Charlie Swan had dirt on the mayor regarding his outside-love-life which is why he has been quiet even when directly asked about the strange behavior of the police. He also worked his magic to keep the press out of this. Of course, that was all for not when his wife figured it out he was having an affair."

"How did she do that?" Bella asked.

"She surprised him one night at the office only to find him…well, shall we say, trying to unclog the janitor's pipes." Dad smirked.

I couldn't help but laugh at the image dad painted, Bella didn't find it very humorous and I ended up with a welt on my arm from her butter knife.

"To make the long story short, and without going into much detail about the divorce case, Irina called her sister, Kate, who works with the governor and they put all the pieces together. Kate and their other sister Tanya called me to give me this bit of information which leads us up to last night."

"What's going to happen with the mayor?" Bella inquired.

"Like Charlie, he was also given a choice to either retire from public office effective immediately—and to sign a confidentiality contract—or risk political scandal at the next election."

"Then how does Charlie know about him?"

Dad smiled. "Turns out they went to Forks High together, even graduated in the same year."

Bella shook her head, I don't think she really believed what we just went through.

"At least it's over with, right?" I asked.

"Yes, son, it's over." He confirmed.

"Good." I said.

"Ed, I want a restraining order against Renee and Charlie." Bella said after a few minutes of silence.

I paused in mid-air with Elizabeth's spoon just a few inches from her face. She let out a cry of protest which woke me up to continue feeding her. Dad, who already had his head back in the paper, didn't seem surprised.

"Jenks has already set up the paperwork for you, Bella. All it needs is a signature from a non-corrupted judge and it'll be effective." Why doesn't that surprise me? "And don't roll your eyes at me, Edward Anthony, I am always prepared for any given situation."

Bella and I shook our heads then continued on with our breakfast.


	19. Chapter 19

Bella's restraining order was issued on Monday afternoon, Jenks called the house just as he was walking out of the courthouse with the ink on the paperwork barely dry. I can't imagine how hard it was for Bella to come to that decision. She later asked me if I was mad for making that call before we discussed it together. I had to admit I sort of was, but after thinking about it I would have made the same call because, after all, this is about saving our little family.

The restraining order gave Bella her breath back. Literally, I saw the stress melt away from her shoulders when we were handed our copy of the order. She nor I asked dad about the Swan's reaction when they received the news, this chapter is closed for now, it was time to focus on our little family.

In the couple of weeks that followed, we kept our routine of work, school, Elizabeth, and each other.

Dad was able to get both Elizabeth and Bella on his insurance, and at Bella's appointment I went with her. I was uncomfortable as hell, but it was worth it seeing as my woman was healthy and had actually picked up a few pounds by then. To celebrate, we went out to lunch, just the two of us since Elizabeth was at daycare. She fucking loved it, by the way.

The gang kept coming over every weekend to hang out. The girls eventually had one more shopping trip where Bella finally found the dress she was going to wear for the charity ball, but I wasn't allowed to see it until tonight, the night of the ball.

I was pushed into the guest room with my tuxedo while the women kidnapped Bella and took over my room to get her ready. Dad was dressed and waiting with the other guys along with Elizabeth in the living room by the time I was ready.

"How much longer do you think they'll be, son?" He asked me looking at his pocket watch.

I shrugged my shoulders then turned to the boyfriends of the stylists.

Emmett shrugged.

"Alice is usually good if she has a deadline." Jasper answered bouncing Elizabeth on his knee.

"She has eighteen minutes before we need to leave." Dad didn't like to be late for work functions.

"Plenty of time for pictures." Speak of the pixie.

She danced down the stairs with a camera in her hands. "Whenever you're ready, Bella."

I swear I forgot how to breathe when my fiancée walked down the stairs. Her hair was elaborately half braided and pulled over one shoulder. Her makeup was very light almost like she wasn't wearing any at all as I'm sure she preferred it, also, she didn't even need it for her flawless face was already a sight to behold.

What killed me was her dress, one strap over her shoulder leaving the other bare under her mahogany tresses which was brought out by the deep dark red of her dress with a hint of her cleavage visible in the front, and a black sash wrapped around her shapely waistline. It was long and flowing with a mid-thigh slit along one side, and I could not believe she was wearing short—barely an inch—heels on her feet. Her only accessories were my mother's diamond bracelet on her right wrist, and her engagement ring winking every so often in the light on her left finger.

Dad whistled behind me, but it didn't break the spell this captivating woman had me under.

She walked right up to me.

"Breathe, Edward." She reminded me.

I took in a gulp as well as her hand bringing it up to my lips.

"There are no words." I whispered.

It would have been the time for a dazzling kiss, but Alice pulled us apart and posed the four of us around the room. I guess she was trying to make up for the fact that Bella and I hadn't gone to prom. A sad day when it should have been joyous, but at least I got my wish to see Bella as a vision of beauty wearing my mother's wedding ring in front of our peers…well, tonight it will be in front of dad's peers…close enough.

Fifteen minutes dragged on with the endless modeling, but luckily the town car arrived earlier than promised…unfortunately, this was another opportunity for Alice to shoot more pictures. Jasper had to grab the camera when dad mentioned we were one minute late, and we were off after giving Elizabeth one last kiss each.

The whole ride to the event, Bella was squirming; it's not her usual nervous tick probably because she was trying not to smudge her lipstick. I squeezed her hand to get her attention.

"It'll be fine, Bella, the people there aren't as stuck up as you would think…well, a few aren't." I chuckled.

She cracked a little smile then slid closer to me resting her head on my shoulder.

Minutes later, our driver announced we were pulling into the drive of the venue the ball was being held in, a swanky, five-star hotel with cars lining the circle drive and press standing behind red velvet ropes snapping pictures at the invited guests.

Oh shit.

"Edward," Bella was panicking.

Fucking hell, I should have known this event would be one for Hollywood.

"Just keep going up the carpet, you two, it's me those cameras really want."

It wasn't a full week after our showdown at the police station when the press got wind of the story that had been flying under their noses for months, particularly when the mayor made the announcement he was stepping down from office so he could focus on his 'private life.' Yeah, they didn't buy into that.

Of course some reporters came after Bella and me, but dad took the heat saying he was protecting his son and the young woman he welcomed as a daughter. We did a quick family photo shoot and brief statement which got them off our backs for the most part.

When our car door opened, dad was the first one out followed by me and my trembling fiancée. I couldn't help but kiss her as soon as she cleared the door, and that was fucking stupid because the press immediately pounced on us taking pictures and yelling out questions in our direction.

Dad deflected it all, even going up to talk to a few who had questions for him, they were never tired of asking the hero of the case about his brilliant tactics.

I got Bella to pose for a few pictures before we made it to the front entrance.

"Glad that's over." Bella breathed as we walked through the grand entryway.

"You and I both, love." I replied looping her hand through my arm.

She gave me a soft smile and we walked with the small crowd into the lavishly decorated ballroom. It was also cute, as Bella put it.

The theme was children at play, the colors of the tablecloths and the bouquets of flowers on every table complimented the mural on the far wall of children on a playground laughing and running wild which was the focal point of the room.

"Edward, look." Bella pointed to a wall we were walking next to.

I guess there was more. It was like being in an art gallery except some of pieces weren't from master artists, they were done by children…the firm's children to be exact.

"Edward, you don't think Elizabeth did one, do you?" Bella asked as we moved from one picture to another.

"She sure did." A sweet voice answered for me.

It was Maggie wearing a light green, strapless dress with flowers attached to one side of the waist holding some of her skirt up to expose one foot.

"When did they do this?" Bella asked.

"Weeks ago, I think before Elizabeth started. The planners needed the pieces quickly as they wanted these and the mural to be the headliners for tonight. I told them we had one more child enrolled in our group, and they jumped over one another to include her."

"You didn't mention who her grandfather was?" I questioned playfully.

She laughed. "No, they didn't see her name until I wrote it in after Elizabeth was finished."

"What did she do?" Bella looked around for our daughter's frame.

"Follow me."

Maggie led us farther down the line where a small group had gathered, they were awing at the picture of tiny feet pressed into various positions to create an image. A butterfly, and I know those gifted toes anywhere.

Bella's breath hitched when she also recognized our daughter's masterpiece.

"It's beautiful." She whispered stepping forward to get a closer look.

"I would love to agree with you, but I cannot show favoritism. I do have to say there is a funny story behind this piece."

"This wasn't the first copy she made?" I teased.

Maggie laughed while Bella gave me a playful scowl.

"No, we only had a little problem with the paints. We tried to keep the boys and girls separate with colors…blue and green for boy, pink and purple for girls, well, Elizabeth seems to dislike the color pink." I had to stop myself from doubling over with laughter, Bella, on the other hand, was beaming with joy.

"That's my daughter." She said proudly.

Maggie giggled. "I had a feeling since I've never seen her wearing anything remotely close to pink."

"It's not allowed in my house." Bella pointed out.

I couldn't stop my snickering.

"Duly noted as your daughter has already explained…oh, excuse me, I hope to speak with you two later." She rushed off to another family who were waving to get her attention.

Meanwhile, Bella and I turned back to admiring our baby girl's first art piece.

"Dad still has all the shit I did from elementary. I don't know what the hell he was saving it for, but it's taking up space in the eves."

"Renee created books for just about everything I did, organizing it all by year. The bigger stuff she took detailed pictures of, like from CSI, then put it all into the books." Bella actually cracked a smile on her mother's behalf.

"Sounds interesting." I mused. "Think we can do that for my shit as practice for Elizabeth's works of art."

"Yeah, she'll be an artist alright." Bella smiled.

"Hey, I'm actually fucking proud of this girl's feet. I mean, look at those lines…so unique."

Bella rolled her eyes at me.

"Thought I heard my son's swearing from halfway across the room." Dad strolled up to us with three drinks in his hand. "Sorry, you two are still underage."

"And Elizabeth still drinks my milk, so thanks for being so thoughtful, Ed." Bella cheekily replied.

Me, I sort of grumbled at the thought of drinking soda.

"So what are you swearing at now, son?" Ed turned to face the framed art. "This is beautiful, will you two be bidding on this?"

"We all should make an effort, dad, don't you want to take Elizabeth's footwork home?"

Dad did a double take, even taking a step closer to read the name on the canvas.

"Christ, I didn't realize these were children's works."

"Indeed they are, Mr. Mason." Maggie was back with a clip board. "If you want to sign for Elizabeth's art to be part of the auction you can."

"Uh…" I was weary of this, however, it would be for charity.

"We'll do it." Dad announced for us.

Bella and I looked at him in disbelief. He leaned closer to us to whisper, "We'll have to bet like Hell, but it'll beneficial for every party included." He winked.

I looked to Bella who was trying not to worry her lip as she mulled it over. I thought dad had a point and nodded in her direction, she smiled affirming her answer.

"Wonderful, you can still have a chance to say no when the auctioneer starts the bid, and you can also bid if you wish."

I saw Bella's sly smile out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh we will defiantly think on it." She said.

It wasn't too hard to decide with dad doing all the bidding, and we weren't the only ones. Bella pointed out quite a few other families who chose the same route as us, but Elizabeth's earned was the highest amount out of all the other paintings mostly because of a bidding war over our daughter's work.

"This will make a great story to tell Elizabeth when she gets older." I whispered in Bella's ear as we enjoyed a light dessert of crème brulee with berries.

"Yeah, wait till she finds out grandpa over there spend ten thousand dollars on a painting she did with her feet." Bella rolled her eyes playfully.

"That's more than most contemporary artists get for their first painting done by their hands. Elizabeth has a real talent, I believe." Dad commented.

Bella scoffed. "She didn't even do much besides laugh, I'm sure. It was someone in the daycare who held her up and placed her feet where they needed to go."

"Bella,"

"Yes, Edward."

"Shut up and enjoy your dessert." I held up my last bit for her.

She playfully glared at me, but still wrapped her plump lips around my fork dragging the dessert slowly off and ending the little show with a low moan.

I would have dove my tongue in to taste the brulee in her mouth had it not been for dad clearing his throat rather loudly.

"Are you two ready to go home yet?"

Of course Bella blushed then shook her head. I did the same, but couldn't drop the shit-eating grin off my face.

"Good, I'm going to go meet with a few of my colleagues why don't the two of you future lawyers join me." He suggested.

Dad led us over to Jenks first who was standing with three Amazonian women.

"Ladies, Jenks." Dad greeted them. "I'd like for officially introduce you to my son and future daughter-in-law. Bella, Edward, this is Jason Jenks and Tanya, Irina, and Kate Denali."

"Pleasure to meet you." Bella reached out first to shake their hands.

"You as well, Bella, and, Ed, thank you so much for not addressing me with that pig's last name." Irina smiled at dad.

"I did not feel his name was appropriate to be mentioned on such a joyous night."

"Oh, should we start referring to you as Walt Disney." Tanya joked.

"Aw, grandfather-hood has made him soft." Kate added.

Bella and I laughed with them at the expense of my dad.

"My little Elizabeth may have soften me some, but I can assure you that this hard-ass will never lose his stamina in the courtroom." Dad replied seriously, however, he allowed the twinkle in his eye to show making us laugh.

"Good to know." Irina practically purred.

Bella and I looked at each other with looks of disgust.

Dad laughed at our expense then launched into a conversation with the recent developments of office gossip. Bella and I stuck with this group until we could no longer follow along and decided to walk around.

Because of my resemblance to dad, we were stopped quite a bit by people inquiring about us after the fallout with the Swans. Of course they were fishing—dad had warned us that some might—however, Bella and I deflected their questions about our personal lives with questions of our own regarding our future career paths.

Bella and I got some great pointers for our future by the time we made it to the sparse dance floor.

"Edward, I don't want to embarrass us." Bella protested.

I tightened my grip on her slightly. "Love, please just humor me. We didn't go to prom, we didn't get to experience anything exclusive just the two of us, so I declare we take the opportunities when they come."

She shook her head, trying to refrain from biting her lip again.

"There wasn't much of a point in going to prom, we didn't have many friends we could have celebrated with."

"My view of prom was to just see you wearing a fucking-gorgeous dress like you are now, and dancing with you just because it's an excuse to hold you in my arms for the night." I bent my head so our foreheads were touching. "It has nothing to do with others, just the two of us." I bent lower to kiss her.

Slightly dazed we moved to the middle of the floor and slowly swayed to the soft jazz.

Bella stumbled over our feet a few times, but then I had an idea.

"Edward." She protested as I picked her up and settled her feet on my toes. It wasn't comfortable and I found myself now stumbling because of the added weight throwing me off balance. Needless to say, I did have to put her down or else I would have lost my grip on my angel.

"You get an A for effort." She reached up to quickly kiss my lips.

"Hmm, it looked much simpler in the movie."

"I think the actor did some sort of special workout to condition his feet or maybe there were strings attached to the actress, we should watch it again to make sure."

I was careful not to groan out loud. "Bella, we've seen those movies one too many times already, why don't you plan a date with the girls to do a movie marathon."

"Then what will you and the boys accomplish?" She countered.

"Go to a game or watch one." I shrugged. "With Elizabeth!"

"But she might like the movies."

"Oh fu…heck no," I lowered my voice. "I don't want her to get any ideas, plus there is sex in the last two."

"Yes, pretty hot sex." Bella also lowered her voice suggestively looking up at me through her lashes.

Oh fuck me.

"Bella," I chided.

"Edward," she bounced back.

"What?" I groaned then.

"We stopped moving." She fucking giggled.

She was right. We were in the middle of the dance floor with the music still playing and other couples dancing around us, some were giving us pointed looks as they twirled around us.

"Do you want to keep dancing or are we done here?" I asked her.

"Depends on what you have in mind after this?"

"Hmm, how about we head home to relieve the babysitters then make sure our little angel is fast asleep in her room?"

"After we are certain she's safe and sound what will we do?"

"Um, how about a…burping contest?" I got a good sock in the gut for that one.

She pulled me down by my lapels so my ear was close to her hot mouth.

"I'm serious, Edward, don't you remember my birth control is set and we can enjoy each other without restrictions." She purred.

Oh fuck me. Must get out fast.

We tried not to seem over-eager when we found dad and told him we would like to head home. Our excuse being we missed Elizabeth.

"Sure, you two." He saw right past us. "I'll catch a ride with someone, the town car is yours for the night."

Unfortunately, we couldn't take advantage of it seeing as we really did miss our baby girl…that and it would be fucking awkward for our first time to be in a car with a stranger driving. Still, we could not keep our hands off each other, just little touches here and there along with whispered sweet-nothings in one another's ears.

I didn't realize how late it was until we walked into the house and nearly everyone was asleep. Emmett and Rosalie were cuddled up on the sofa passed out with Emmett snoring like a bear, how the hell can Rose sleep so close to that? Jasper and Alice, on the other hand, were on the loveseat. He was awake watching TV with Alice's head resting on his lap.

"Hey, rough night?" I joked.

Jasper shook his head as he carefully picked up Alice and arranged her so she was laying on the cushion he just vacated. She mumbled something, but went right back to sleep with a soft snore.

"Did Elizabeth give you guys any problems?" Bella asked kicking off her shoes.

"Nah, the real trouble came with Alice when she tried to put Elizabeth in a few outfits she brought over."

"No way," Bella whisper-yelled.

"Don't worry, Elizabeth gave Alice the message she does not like to be treated like a doll loud and clear." His shoulders were shaking as he tried to hold in his chuckles.

I found myself doing the same thing while Bella looked murderous at the pixie snoring on the loveseat.

"I'll get them out of here before you smother my girlfriend in her sleep, Bella." Jasper read her mind.

I helped him wake everyone up while Bella went up to check on Elizabeth. Mostly, I think she just wanted to be away from Alice before she did something she regretted. With those two it's one step forward and then two steps back leaving Jazz and I playing referees.

Jasper drove everyone back to campus, and after making sure the house was locked up and the alarm was set, I went to find my girls.

Elizabeth's door was closed while ours was open, but I needed to see my little girl first.

She was curled up in her sleeper sack sleeping like an angel with one arm stretched out to the side and the other under her head. I reached down to stroke her exposed cheek. She hardly stirred at my touch.

"Goodnight, sweetheart, daddy loves you." I kissed my fingers then pressed them softly to her head before leaving the room making sure the door was closed properly before heading to our room.

Along the way my hands started sweating and my heart was racing. What the fuck? I felt like a fucking virgin all over again. I brushed off the feeling and stepped through the open door.

The water was running in the bathroom, Bella must be scrubbing off her makeup.

"Too bad she's not in the shower." I muttered to myself as I pulled my tie apart.

As I sat down to remove my fucking uncomfortable, shiny shoes, the bathroom door opened. I looked up to see a goddess standing in the doorway with the light still on behind her creating a glow around her luscious body.

I was stunned into submission when I took in her face, it was freshly cleaned with all traces of makeup removed. Her hair was wild and free from its prison of hairspray and pins, but it was her outfit that really—or lack thereof—got my attention.

Bella has always been shy about her body, more so after having Elizabeth, but before me there she stood utterly naked and stunning hiding behind nothing.

I wanted to get up to touch this goddess before me to see if she was real, but I couldn't move. Even my jaw couldn't hold itself up.

Drawing her arms down to her sides slowly she walked up to me with complete confidence. Who was this woman?

"Bella?" I had to make sure.

"Yes, Edward." She spoke with no hint of fear coming to stand in between my legs. "Do you have something to say?" She smiled.

I took her all in, restarting from her head down to her toes. I'm pretty sure I acted like a fucking twelve year old seeing my first set of bare breasts, but she was patient allowing me to take my fill before I held her eyes again. Her stunning brown doe eyes which held nothing but love…for me.

"You are so beautiful." I whispered not daring to speak loudly as if it would break our spell.

She blushed, even as confident as she felt right now, those words would always make her react especially when I alone said them to her.

"Thank you." She brought her hands up twisting one hand in my tie before slowly removing it and then threw it away.

I brought her close wanting to feel her lips move on mine. She followed my lead then started to unbutton my shirt pulling the ends from my pants to finish the last few. Next, she traced her fingers over every ridge on my torso until her hands made it up to my shoulders and gently pushed my shirt away from my skin. I let go of her briefly to toss the shirt off then rushed to unbutton my fly before Bella could do it.

She giggled against my lips at my eagerness. I playfully nipped her bottom lip as I stood up to relieve myself of my pants and boxer briefs throwing them carelessly with the other shit…so much for being careful with the suit.

We stood there, at the base of our bed naked, vulnerable, but not taking the other for granted. I only looked into her eyes expressing my love to her silently through mine as she was doing with hers.

"I love you." She breathed.

"I love you too." I moved down to claim her lips again.

It wasn't about dominance, we took and gave the same amount until we ended up on our bed lying on our sides still kissing, and touching as well.

Eventually, my hand graced down her body first toying with her nipples and kissing her neck as she panted and moaned.

"Oh Edward." She mewled as I moved down her body.

She granted me permission to pay homage to her sweet pussy, to drink its nectar as she became wetter with my ministrations using my tongue and fingers. Oh fuck, she's always loved my fingers especially when they find that one special spot right…

"Oh God." Yup, I still got it.

I drew her out to the edge before taking her back then forth again. She may be growling at me right now, but she can't deny she doesn't love it because once I her wound so tight she flies higher than she'd thought possible.

I licked my lips as I climbed up her body while one of my hands was still below rubbing her pussy keeping her somewhat up in the air.

Her hips move with my hand until she grabbed me and pushed me onto my back. I fucking loved it when she did this.

Now she was stroking herself along my cock moaning slightly while she tried to regain control of herself and me as I allowed myself to let go of my dominate nature.

"Fuck." I growled out trying to stay quiet.

I hadn't forgotten the feeling of her bare pussy on my bare cock, but still, it felt new like my memories didn't compare with the sensations of reality.

"Ready?" She asked stilling herself right above my hardened cock.

"Yes," I groaned grabbing her hips.

She grabbed my cock and lowered until we were one again.

"Agh," I wanted to shout my enthusiasm, but held it in.

My memories were totally blanking on this moment, it was like our first time all over again. There was no rush, no worries about getting caught and Charlie Swan finding out. The only thing we did have to be mindful of was Elizabeth who was sleeping next door, so we swallowed one another's cries as we moved and glided, met thrust for thrust until Bella's walls started constricting around my cock. I held it out as she toppled over not ready to give in just yet.

Rolling us over until she was cradled beneath me, I adjusted her left leg over my elbow with my opposite arm supporting my weight. I know we wanted to go slow, but the pressure was on…sort of speak.

The angle I found was deep especially when Bella squeaked in surprise and began thrashing her head from side to side.

"Faster…faster." She panted.

Grabbing the headboard for support, I complied with her wishes. Anything to get her to the brink as I was at already. It didn't help me, however, she helped herself when she reached down to her clit circling it in time with my thrusts.

"Shit." I groaned out. "Baby, I'm sorry."

I couldn't hold it in, but when I let go so did she squeezing and milking my cock until it was sated. I fell onto the bed next to Bella not wanting to squish her as she regained her breath with my happy cock still inside her warm pussy. The fucking bastard was spoiled.

"Fuck." Bella breathed.

I chuckled never use to my woman swearing.

"Yeah, laughing after sex is really what a woman wants to hear, Edward." She scolded me with a smirk.

I matched her with that crooked smile she loves so much. "Nah, I was just going to say the same thing, but you beat me to it. You always surprise me, love."

She rolled towards me so we were parallel resting her leg on top of my hip. My cock was still happy she was making an effort to keep him where he was comfortable.

"I have to say that felt different than last time…in a good way, mind you."

I brushed some of her hair away from her sweaty face. "I was thinking the same thing, it's like we were virgins again."

"Oh I can tell you I am not a virgin anymore."

"Neither am I, although, that was pretty poor of me not being able to hold it in as long as I use to."

"Time to start Viagra?"

My eyes bugged out at the thought.

"Fucking hell no." I had to work to keep my voice down for Elizabeth's sake…or dad's, I'm not sure if he's home yet.

She giggled at my expression while I scowled at her.

"Do we need a repeat?" I challenged. "I'm pretty sure practice does make perfect."

My cock was already coming alive again in her pussy; I gently rocked my hips against hers to give her the idea. She responded in kind by kissing my chest, my nipples then bit one firmly. Yup, she did want more, and I wanted more time with her breasts. Mostly she stopped breastfeeding Elizabeth, but there were still times when she would leak and I was more than happy to help clean her up.

The next morning found us all in the kitchen eating breakfast. I was feeding Elizabeth while dad and Bella ate the pancakes I made up. Normally Bella does most of the cooking, but after our third round she literally shoved me off of her go give her sensitive pussy some relief. When we woke up, I had a boner and Bella was too achy for a morning romp, so I had to take care of it in the shower while Bella attended to Elizabeth who was all smiles this morning. Needless to say, my woman deserved a break in the kitchen.

The doorbell rang right when Elizabeth finished her last bite.

"I'll get it." Bella announced finishing her last bite of pancake. "It's probably Alice and the others; she said she wanted to stop by today for details about last night."

I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively to her to which she giggled as she walked out of the room. I wasn't expecting to hear her slam the door close and stomp her way back into the kitchen just seconds after opening the door.

"What's wrong?" I stood up to grab her.

"You wouldn't believe who is at the fucking door right now." She seethed.

Speaking of which, the doorbell rang again, rather impatiently I might add.

"Don't get it, Ed. Call the police to arrest their fucking asses."

"Charlie and Renee?" I asked.

The scowl on her face said it all.

I held onto Bella as dad reached for the phone, we were trying to reign in our tempers for Bella had lost all the fear she once held for her parents replacing it was hate and anger. Before dad could dial the police the front door opened and we heard two sets of footsteps on the hardwood in the other room.

"Hell no." I said letting go of Bella and heading into the living room where the footsteps had stopped. Dad was right behind me.

Sure enough, both Charlie and Renee Swan were standing in my father's living room; at least they weren't feigning superiority. In fact, they almost looked humble, and yet I did not let their feelings affect me.

"Charlie, Renee, the pair of you are in violation of the restraining order issued…"

"For fuck's sakes cut the legalities and let us speak." Renee interrupted dad.

"If you had called my office we would have set up a time for that. With Bella's permission, of course." Dad countered.

"And she would have denied that request, so we decided to just skip that step."

"You risk being arrested and incarcerated, think of how that would affect your future." Dad warned.

"This is a risk we decided it was worth taking. We would like to speak to Isabella." Charlie declared barely using any humility.

Dad was already shaking his head. "Bella has already made it clear she does not want anything to do with either of you not after everything you put her and her daughter through."

"Please." Renee begged tears forming in her eyes. "Please, Bella, at least let us explain our actions." She called out knowing where Bella was hiding.

"No, you don't get that privilege." I took a step back towards the doorway to the kitchen; I'll defend it with my life if I had to. Who the fuck knows how crazy these two are?

"Nor do you get to speak," Bella walked into the room, and to my shock she was holding Elizabeth who was cuddled into her ragdoll and her mother as she probably sensed something wasn't right.

"You've done enough talking over the years and it's my turn." Bella continued. "Ever since I was a kid you two put me on a pedestal setting me up for expectations that practically sucked the life out of me. I had hoped that I would get your praise instead I ended up getting criticized for not doing this or that. I hated how hard you pushed me, the both of you, just so I wouldn't make you look bad. Did you think I was just a statistic because you two were divorced and my future could suffer? Is that what you two thought?"

From the way Renee was fidgeting with her purse and Charlie's hands were jingling the change in his pockets, Bella had hit the nail on the head.

"Yeah, I figured as much, but guess what I could have used instead of all that pressure? Love, that's what I needed and that's what I got from Edward and Ed then my own daughter after I birthed her alone. Did you two ever know that kind of love? You should have because you two married each other, and Renee, you remarried, but I guess neither you don't believe in it, which that really makes me sad because you'll never be happy.

"It also hurts me because after the stupid stunts you two pulled for these past few years I cannot trust you with my daughter, and I'm sure Edward feels the same way."

She looked at me, I was still glaring, but nodded my head in her direction.

"With that said, I am willing to allow you both to leave now and I won't report you to the police, however, in the future you will not try to contact me or my family. Especially Elizabeth, this is the only time you will see her and I pray you will take this memory as a punishment for what you missed out on."

"But, but what if she tries to contact us…or you need us?" Renee's voice quivered, trying to hold back her tears.

"If Elizabeth decides she wants to get to know her grandparents we will look for you. I promise I will only give her the facts, and I will answer every question she can think of including why I ran away from you. I won't tarnish your images any worse than your actions have already." She finished.

Personally, I would rather call the police and have their fucking asses hauled into a jail cell, but I did see Bella's point. We would be no better than her parents if we kept the truth from Elizabeth when the time comes. I just pray that never fucking happens.

"We've learned our lesson about getting into relationships at young age and thought it only bring hardship to your future. You were such a bright child and a great student; we didn't want that for you." Renee explained, her voice was thick with sobs making it hard to understand her at times.

"You never acted out, Bella, and we went too far when you started going behind our backs." Charlie said. It was the first time I had ever heard him sound so quiet.

"I wouldn't have had to if I wasn't so afraid of introducing you to Edward. I get that you were scared for my future, but that's love. Either you take it by the horns and risk falling or you don't and then you're just left with regrets for not trying. Edward and I took that risk, and guess what?"

"I'm not letting her get away." I draped my arm around my girls. "I searched for her after she left and was willing to go to Hell and back just to find her."

"Yes, we've seen that. I have to admit you were pretty persistent, but never understood why unless you already knew about the ba…Elizabeth." Charlie said rubbing the back of his neck.

"We didn't." Dad stepped in. "We could have through unconventional methods, but chose not because we uphold the law."

Charlie and Renee squirmed a bit under dad's words.

"You should be proud, though, your daughter is very bright and determined. The majority of that comes from the two of you, your personalities as well as through your faults." Dad continued.

Bella didn't even blush at the praise dad was giving her; she was too focused on her anger.

"I also have great friends who helped me which includes Phil. Renee, I know you two are going through a divorce, and my last wish for you is to drop it. Phil is good for you and I know how much you love him, so try to patch things up before you lose him forever.

"And Charlie, I don't know what advice to give you other than get off your high horse. You are not superior to anyone and it cost you your friends."

"It did." He confirmed, "And my daughter and granddaughter."

"So we've heard what you had to say, I don't know if I can ever forgive either of you in the near future. We'll see as time goes by. This is the last time you'll ever see us unless Edward and I change our minds." Not fucking lightly in my book. "Now please, go."

"But Bella, we still want to talk." Renee pleaded. "At least give us time with Elizabeth."

Elizabeth had fallen asleep in Bella's arms. I don't know how the girl could sleep with the stress around us.

Bella looked up to me, I read her silent question.

"One minute." I voiced our decision.

Renee didn't waste a second coming up to Bella with her shaky arms held out. Bella hesitated and I fought to keep myself from snatching Elizabeth when Renee was holding her.

"Can you take a picture?" Charlie handed me his camera.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, but complied. Charlie and Renee stood side-by-side carefully arranging a sleeping Elizabeth so she was in between the two. I didn't have much patience so I just snapped the shot as soon as possible. I wasn't even sure it was good because Charlie hadn't upgraded to a digital camera.

I tossed the outdated piece to him as Renee stepped towards Bella handing over our angel without even waking her up.

"Thank you." Renee smiled with tears flooding her eyes.

"One more thing." I said before going over to the coffee table.

Soon after the restraining order was issued Bella saw an ad for family portraits, of course it came with a coupon too, but it became a special day for the four of us. Elizabeth even enjoyed herself smiling so big you'd think she was saying cheese.

We planned on giving the copies we like to our friends, but we had some extra which brings me to now.

I picked up three extras and gave them to Charlie and Renee. Renee let out a gasped squeak along with a bright smile reminding me of Bella.

One picture was of Elizabeth alone after she pulled herself up using a table using one hand while the other held her ragdoll. She looked so adorable in her mint green overalls and white short-sleeve shirt with matching soft shoes. She would have had a bow in her hair, but she pulled that out right after Bella stuck it in giving her mother and I same defiant look that mirrored Bella's. I couldn't help but laugh at the time and received an angry glare from my woman.

The second picture was just Bella and I sitting on a motorcycle—I demanded the fucking thing be in at least one picture when I saw it in the prop room. I was holding the handle bars, but looking back at Bella with nothing but love in my eyes as she was to me. We weren't even smiling…hell, we didn't know the photographer took that picture until we saw the light flash. I wasn't too happy about that because I wanted a badass picture of us acting like we were speeding down the highway, but I changed my tune when the photographer showed us what he got.

The last one was a picture of everyone including dad. We were in formal clothes and in a living room from the Victorian age. Dad was in the big arm chair with a book in his hand, but was smiling fondly at Elizabeth as she laughed at her doll on the floor near his feet. Bella and I were on the couch close to our daughter with Bella resting her head on my shoulder and my arms wrapped around her. We were both smiling looking at our daughter rather than at the camera. It was both intimate and timeless especially with the sepia tone of the picture.

We had more pictures taken, but this last one was Bella's and my favorite by far as we could recreate it in the future when our family grew.

Passing the photos to Charlie and Renee I got that it was like an olive branch. As Bella said, we aren't ready to forgive just yet, but this will give them hope we will meet again someday.

Charlie and Renee thanked us profusely and promised they wouldn't contact us again.

"We'll keep an eye on you two just in case." Bella said before she took Elizabeth upstairs and out of their eyesight.

When Charlie and Renee were barely off the porch dad closed the door even though I saw them turning around once more. I could see through the window those small smiles they were working on drop when the lock clicked and I turned away walking into the kitchen while dad went into his office.

It was a little early for Elizabeth to sleep, but I'm glad she was. Normally, she doesn't mind strangers as it would mean more people to faun over her, but we don't need her bonding with Charlie and Renee right now. Preferably never in my book.

"She's cutting teeth." Bella announced as she came into the kitchen.

I was already halfway through with the dishes when she popped in.

"Already?"

"Yeah, it surprised me too, but I did see one. I'm just glad we've switched her to a bottle. Ouch." Bella shuttered.

I barked out a laugh thinking of last night.

"Hey," she slapped me. "There is a difference when you bite me and when she does."

"Yeah, you like my teeth and tongue." I growled grabbing her and nipping at her neck playfully.

"Edward," She whined.

She wiggled this way and that, but I held firm until she grabbed my nipple giving it a hard squeeze and twist making me fly back against the refrigerator.

"You little…"

"Ah, ah, you started it. I was just defending myself. Besides," she dropped her voice as she slowly made her way over to me. "You like it when I get a little rough with you." She added trailing her finger down my torso suggestively.

I stopped her before her finger ended up on my cock or else I would be fighting the instinct to fuck her on the table, and that would not be wise with both dad and Elizabeth in the house in the middle of the day. Instead, I draped her arm around my neck and wrapped both of my arms around her waist bringing her in to relish in the warmth of her body…this was as close as I was going to get for a while.

"You don't know how long I've waited for you." I told her solemnly

She went to look down, but I didn't allow that.

"I want to see those beautiful doe eyes every waking moment, even in sleep I will dream of them as you smile, laugh, and cry. I don't ever want to forget them."

"Did you?" She asked in a small voice.

I shook my head. "My memories did dilute them and when I saw you again I was so fucking disappointed in myself for allowing that, but was fucking grateful at the same time that I remembered you in all your beautiful glory."

"No, don't berate yourself for that. It's inconsequential now that we're together again, and nothing will ever drag me away from you."

"Promise?"

"As long as you make the same promise."

I gave her my crooked smile to which she leaned up to meet my lips with hers.

"I love you." She whispered. "Forever and forever."

"Forever." I repeated.


	20. Chapter 20

**15 Years Later**

"Daddy," a little voice call for my attention, "will mommy be home to tuck me in bed?"

I moved the pan of fish I was frying off the hot burner before walking over to my four-year old son. This was a conversation Bella and I had been dreading for weeks now.

"Alex, mommy said she'll try to be home in time to tuck you in, and if she isn't do you remember what she'll do?" I asked him.

"Um, she'll call us?"

"Do you remember what else she'll do?"

"Take us to Disney?"

I rolled my eyes trying hard not to laugh, but that was easier said than done with the excitement written all over his face.

"No, son, she'll read you a story over the phone and when she comes home she'll give you her goodnight kisses." I answered.

"Oh." He sounded defeated and I knew why.

This past year Bella was promoted at Dad's firm. Not a partner yet, but she's working her way up the ladder without dad's help even if her last name is Masen.

We talked a lot about it, the three of us, Bella's and my main concern was we would receive special treatment from our colleagues and supervisors because of dad. Dad thought of us as his legacies and we would take over his firm one day, so we would have to prove ourselves until then.

Well Bella is currently working harder on that goal than I am. Yes, I did take the bar exam and I do have a position at the firm; however, I only work part-time mostly pro bono for victims of abuse. My main job is to be the best fucking father I can be.

Bella calls it guilt that I wasn't there for Elizabeth's first year, so I'm making it up with the rest of our children, and I can't argue against that because it's fucking true. So I've encouraged Bella to strive for the both of us, but that doesn't mean she chooses her work over our children.

Fuck no, her assistant—she has one now—has a schedule of every event our children participate in, which is quite a bit coming from three kids…soon to be four.

Dad has also made his grandkids his priority. He's hoping Bella and I will rise up in the next few years and make partner so that he can officially retire and leave the firm to us to which Bella and I would accept wholeheartedly. I may pick up more cases at that time especially since it'll equal out that all our children will be in school making me feel less stressed about juggling them and work.

A pair of lights flashed the kitchen window and Alex went running up to the door with me on his heels. He's notorious for opening the door whenever he sees someone coming up the sidewalk no matter how many times we've explained to him the concept of strangers.

Tonight I think he was hoping the lights would mean mommy, but I knew he was going to be disappointed.

"Hey, ladies," I greeted my daughters.

"Hi, dad," Elizabeth mumbled ignoring me while playing with her phone.

"Hello to you too, Lizzie," I said back at her. She prefers the name dad always called her when she was little because of her likeness for my mother, and it took some time for me to finally pick it up.

"Hi, daddy," My younger daughter jumped up my leg.

"Hey, Ness, how was practice?" I asked my eight year old.

Her frown said it all.

My girls have a thing about sports. Elizabeth didn't inherit her mother's equilibrium, but Reneseme sure did. However, both have her stubbornness which is why Reneseme hasn't quit basketball even though her coach doesn't let her on the court much during games. Elizabeth is the star of her high school volleyball team, and has been since her freshmen year when she led her team to victory in the state finals with her grand slam of a spike in the final game.

Elizabeth looks like a carbon copy of my mother, Reneseme looks more like Bella, and Alex looks more like me with Bella's old mousy disposition and love of books—even though he can barely read he makes us read until he's fast asleep. It'll be interesting to see how our last little one will turn out in just a few short months.

"Oh." Alex whined in my arms at the sight of his sisters. "Where's mommy?"

"She'll be home soon. Remember, we all have to come together for dinner or call if someone is late." I told him putting him down so I can pick up the shit my girls left in their wake.

Oh yeah, I also call myself a house-husband. Well, what else am I going to do when I'm in between cases as much as I am?

"But she was late last night." He complained helping me out. "It's all the stupid baby's fault."

"No it's not, Alex, mommy's just working really hard, but she always remembers her favorite family."

"Oh," he whined again and stomped up the stairs probably headed for his room.

I shook my head and got back to preparing dinner.

As I was thinking about calling Bella, her car lights flashed through the dining room window where I was setting the table.

Alex must have been watching through the upstairs window because he flew down the stairs in time to reach his mommy—my wife—as soon as she walked through the door.

She stumbled a bit when he collided with her, but caught herself on the doorframe just in time. Bella still has trouble with her balance, but not our son.

"Mommy!" He squealed over and over again. "Up please."

"Ok then." I grabbed him, flipping him over so he was upside down in front of Bella. "Is this good?" I asked him.

He was giggling up a storm as was Bella who kissed his head and hugged him.

"I'm sorry I'm late, again." She stepped up to kiss me as I held tight to the little fish in my arms.

"You're right on time, dinner's ready." I said then set down our little man. "Hey, Alex, go bug your sisters until they come down for dinner."

"You got it, dude." He smiled then ran up the stairs.

Meanwhile, I turned back to my beautiful wife. After being married for almost ten years our love has only grown stronger with time no matter how many obstacles has tested us.

"Seriously, I'm sorry I'm late. I got handed a case an hour ago when I thought I was in the clear to be home early, but it was either get started or miss out on Reneseme's game tomorrow tonight."

I helped her out of her jacket and shoes as I listened to her complain about her bitch of a supervisor.

"Ugh, I could use a glass of wine." She all but collapsed in her seat. "Fish, Edward, really?"

"This one is fish," I held up the first dish. "And this is your chicken." I put the casserole dish in front of her knowing from experience to always make extra for her seeing as her appetite rivals Emmett's when she's pregnant.

"You're going to make me fat, Edward." She teased as our darling children trickled into the room with Alex leading the way proudly.

"Lizzie, put that phone away. You know the rules." Bella chastised.

"But, mom…" she started, but Bella gave her the brow and our teen daughter huffed dramatically before walking out of the room taking her sweet time coming back in.

"Will grandpa be coming over?" Reneseme asked grabbing the green beans.

"Sorry, honey, he's busy tonight, but he said this weekend he'll take us to the Mariner's game if we're all good." Bella eyed us all.

"Yay!" All our kids cheered even Elizabeth, who to this day loves baseball.

Bella laughed then grabbed her stomach. I put my hand over our last bun to feel him/her kicking.

"And guess who will also be joining us?" Bella continued winking at me.

"The gang!" Alex jumped in his seat.

Bella nodded her head.

The gang all live here in Seattle with Emmett and Rosalie just moving back with their brood from Tennessee last year. We're pretty much one big family whenever we together, however, Bella and Alice still aren't close and used to use Jasper and I as their telephone system when something needed to be passed along. It's only really since Rosalie came back that they are going out more with her as a buffer.

Our kids and their kids are the best of friends, but I do have my eye on Alice and Jasper's son, Jackson, who I'm pretty sure is making moves on my eight year old daughter. Bella tries to tell me I'm just imagining it, though, I'm not buying it.

Dinner was a success, and Bella finished nearly half of the casserole dish before I brought out the ice cream for dessert. At first, Elizabeth whined about the extra sugar she didn't need, but I made up my special sundae for her to which she stopped complaining and ate the damn thing. We're a family with sweet-teeth, but nutrition always comes first.

After dessert the kids know it's their job to clean up the dishes and the kitchen. Lucky for them, I've gotten better about creating less of a mess as I cook.

In the meantime, I helped my wife up the bedroom to change her clothes because she is practically falling asleep in my arms.

"I can't fall asleep yet. There's too much for me to do tonight." Bella complained as I dressed her.

"Bella love, you are too worn out." I crouched down in front of her and rubbed her belly relishing in the fact that our last unborn already knows me.

Bella couldn't help but give me a sleepy smile at the sight of me practically worshipping her bloated stomach. I'd say any man should be lucky enough to witness this precious moment in life.

"Edward, can I ask you a question?"

I gave her a disapproving look, the same one I give to our children. Even after being together for almost twenty years and the strength she has gained in that time still hasn't dulled her cute shyness whenever she asked for something. Even if it's something small she would still talk to me like she was that same sixteen year old I feel in love with all those years ago.

She took a deep breath then asked. "Are you mad that this is our last one?" Rubbing her stomach and worrying her bottom lip.

I wasn't prepared for her to ask that. We had a discussion about this after Alex was born and decided that he would be our last one, however, we should have known that birth control was not our friend. Bella tried three different types of contraception and we still ended up pregnant, always beating the odds and surprising the hell out of the OB/GYN. After Bella's announcement for this baby I decided I would get fixed to take the pressure off of her.

Yes, she would doubt herself thinking she did something wrong, but the pills were all accounted for, the condoms were fresh, fuck, that little stick in her womb was still there when she found out she was pregnant with Alex. It was the last straw for me because as the years have gone by, Bella hated being pregnant, but the love she had for our children made it all worth it she says.

"Edward?" She got my attention.

I took my own deep breath, already knowing what would happen if I'm not calm.

"Love, we've talked about this before, and you know I'm not angry about this. It's weird having a large family when we always talked about just one or two, but like dad says, life is full of surprises sometimes shit too." I ended up with a slap for that joke, but that is what my dad says.

"But are you sure you want to get snipped? I could easily have my tubes tied after this kid is done cooking." I was already shaking my head before she finished.

"Nope, you hated being in the hospital which is why Esme home-birthed our last two kids, but add to the fact how much extra time you will be hospitalized after going through the procedure and how much time you would have to take off from work." I shook my head as she tried to interrupt me. "With me, I'll just be laid up with a sore cock for what, a week, maybe less? Now which one sounds like the fair deal?"

She shrugged her shoulders at a loss for words.

"Bella, why do you want to put yourself under all that pressure?"

"You've already sacrificed so much on your career for the kids, and I wanted to take my share."

I rolled my eyes. "Baby, you're going to be off for a few months after this kid is born which will make me the breadwinner while you're home with the kids, but I could work from home most of the time."

"Uh no, you'll have cases too, and you need to keep those spoiled paralegals in line when I'm not around." She countered.

I chuckled at her mood swing. This was the only time I was allowed to laugh at her sudden change, any other time I would end up on the couch…and I fucking have too.

"See, we've agreed. I'll get the vasectomy next week like we've planned and you can nurse me back to health." I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively.

"Edward." She squealed trying to push me away with her foot, but I ended up kissing and massaging it with my thumbs.

Our playtime would have continued if only a knock at our door didn't interrupt us.

"Coming." I called out then gave my wife one last kiss on her lips before actually walking to the door. Even then Bella tried to trip me.

I caught myself then looked over my shoulder giving her a silent warning to which she matched with her seductive smile.

By the way the person knocked I had a fairly good idea who it already was.

Elizabeth.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I need some help with my family tree project." She pleaded which only meant one thing.

"Please tell me it's not due tomorrow." I pinched the bridge of my nose thinking of all the other all-nighters we've had because of our first born, and I'm not just talking about late-night feedings or her being sick.

"Don't be silly, dad, its due Monday. There's still plenty of time to get it done." She tried to shrug it off, but she was biting her lower lip. A nervous habit she picked up from Bella.

"Is the kitchen cleaned up?" I asked.

"Yup, we got the dining room handled too." She answered without missing a beat.

That's my girl, always a team-player as well as leader…just not about homework.

"Fine, go gather your things and I'll be down in a minute."

"Actually, can mom join us?"

"What's the homework about, and please don't say Health Ed."

She laughed at my pain remembering the first time she brought home work from that subject. She wasn't even in fucking high school yet and they were already teaching kids about their reproductive systems. It nearly gave me a damn heart attack before Bella took our daughter aside and they completed the assignment together. That was the last time I had anything to do with that concerning our daughters, but Bella made me promise to educate our son(s) in the future.

Yeah, in the way fucking future.

"It's for Art, we are putting together a family tree with a twist."

Oh shit.

"Did you say family tree, Lizzie?" Bella popped up already changed into her favorite yoga pants and my U-Dub t-shirt.

"Yeah, it doesn't have to be traced back to our origins just a few generations with some stories if you have them." Again she was worrying her lip completely copying her mother at the moment.

Bella and I looked at one another realizing that this was the moment when all Hell could break loose.

"We can help, but go grab your brother and sister. This calls for a family meeting first." I said.

Elizabeth looked at us with a confused expression, but followed my instructions anyways heading up one more floor.

"Is it wrong of me to say I'd hoped this day would never come?" Bella asked as we headed down to the first floor.

"It feels like it, but at the same time…maybe no?" In truth I was having mixed feelings about this.

Bella and I agreed a long time ago that we would answer any question our kids might have about Charlie and Renee. Shockingly, the topic of conversation hadn't come up until now.

For our kids, they already had a grandfather who doted and spoiled them. They also had the gang and their families which we all blended into as the years have gone by. Taking vacations together, holiday meals and celebrations, we were one huge family without the extra baggage.

"Should we tell them the whole truth? Even to Alex?" I asked.

"Absolutely," Bella didn't hesitate to answer. "We made the agreement not just to Charlie and Renee, but to each other." She said before walking into the office while I went to the freshly cleaned dining room.

Those were two names we haven't heard from in a while.

We were true to our word about keeping an eye on them. Charlie went back to Forks a 'retired' Chief of Police; he stayed quiet for some time even trying to patch things up with Billy. It was sort of successful, but from what Jacob said things never did go back to the way they were before. Mostly they spend their days fishing in tense silence and Jacob says he hardly ever heard Charlie say a word to anyone on the reservation or in town. The once boisterous Chief who was desperate to find his daughter became a man without that light in his eye.

Meanwhile, Renee went back to Phil who stopped the proceedings for the divorce, and both attended couple's counseling for months until Phil filed for divorce once again. Renee went downhill from there, taking to alcohol to numb her pain, even reaching out to Bella for help one night. However, Bella's phone was turned off for the night as we partied celebrating my 21st birthday. The next morning we discovered Renee's distraught voicemail when Phil called us to say she was in a fatal accident on her way out of Florida.

Bella was so heartbroken she cried for days and ended up taking the fall semester off to grieve. Later she told me she didn't expect to feel so strongly about Renee's passing, and that she felt guilty for not picking up the phone when Renee called. She was also fucking angry that her mother drove drunk when she had an opportunity to be part of our lives again.

Bella and I barely hung onto our hatred for Charlie and Renee for just a little over a year, but when Renee died Bella's hatred spread and she ended up in therapy. I felt so fucking useless until dad made me see that Bella needed a professional while Elizabeth needed her father. In the end, it all worked out because the following year we didn't attend our graduation nor did our friends because we were hosting a wedding.

The idea was we weren't able to graduate high school together, but we could celebrate a happy ending…just not at a boring graduation ceremony. Thanks to Bella's grandma, it was the best day of our lives despite the dark undertones that plagued my bride.

Charlie was invited and so was Phil, but Charlie didn't show. In fact, that was the last we heard from him. Rumor has it he went off into the woods around Forks to live in an off-the-grid cabin no one knew about. Again, Bella was heartbroken on the happiest day of our lives, but she took it all in stride remembering that her parents made their choice…they always had and just chose wrong.

In time we forgave them even if we couldn't say it to their faces, and two of our children are named after them. Reneseme for both Renee and Esme as she has turned into the mother that Bella always needed, and Alex's middle name is Charles. I'm just kind of shocked that it's taken this long for our kids to wonder whether Reneseme's very, very unique name was actually a result of a drunken night or not.

For our last child we've decided it would be another Edward after my father and I and Jacob calling him EJ, but for a girl I'm pressing for Izabel. Bella, however, is convinced this kid will be a boy, and although, I keep arguing with her about the kid being a girl, I also have the same feeling as her.

Speaking of our kids, here they come.

Each one had art supplies in their arms—it was their favorite activity no matter how old they got. Bella came up behind them with the photo albums including the one we keep hidden in the office.

"Where did you get that one, mom?" Elizabeth asked.

"Sit down and we'll tell you." Bella tried to reply teasingly, but it sounded weak and the kids knew to listen.

"First of all, we love each and every one of you." I started Bella finding my hand under the table. "If you have any questions please ask whenever or whatever you want."

Reneseme was the first to raise her hand. I nodded my head in her direction.

"Did someone die?" She asked.

Bella squeezed my hand; she was trying to hold back so many emotions at the moment and settled on a soft smile for our children.

"Reneseme, have you ever wondered how you got your name?" She asked our daughter.

"Lizzie said you two were crying so much the nurse couldn't understand you when she asked for my name. What'd you call it, sis, hy'spherical?"

"Hysterical." Elizabeth corrected her.

"What's hysterical?" Alex asked.

"It means we were crying so hard we couldn't speak, son." I answered. "And yes, that is part of the story, however, we didn't make up your name right then, sweetheart. Actually, it took your mother months to come up with it." I gave her a playful wink.

Bella giggled then went to open the forbidden album flipping the cover to the first page and placing the book in front of our inquisitive children.

"Hey, that's me." Reneseme called out.

"No, honey, that's Lizzie." Bella pointed to the red hair our second daughter wasn't blessed with.

"Yeah, but who are those two holding me?" Elizabeth asked, and then her eyes bugged out. "Holy shit, was I adopted?"

"Oooh." Her brother and sister sang.

Normally Bella and I cracked down on any bad language coming from our children and each other; however, I think this would be the time to pardon her.

"Elizabeth, honey, no, you were born from your father and me when we were still teenagers."

"Yeah, that I counted, but who are those two?" She pointed at the single picture on the first page.

"Their names were Charlie and Renee Swan, and they were your grandparents."

"Yay, more grandpa and grandma!" Alex squealed in excitement, but his sisters didn't share his enthusiasm.

"I'm sorry to say that they aren't around anymore, baby." Bella gently said.

"What happened to them, mommy?" Alex asked.

"They made the wrong choices in daddy and my life as well as yours." She answered.

Bella and I took one last glance at each other gaining strength for what was to come. This was our story to tell, a story we learned from the mistakes that were made as well as a story of courage and our second chance to love.


End file.
